Mohammad Mostafaei's Speech at the French Bar Association Against Executions on the occasion of the International Day Against The Death Penalty

Mohammad Mostafaei

The International Day Against Execution does not belong to a specific case or person who is condemned to execution or stoning, this day belongs to all those who were executed in the past and it belongs to all those who are waiting on death row across the world.

To begin with, let me rekindle the memories of my own teenage clients Behnam Zare, Delaram Darabi, Behnood Shojae and others who have unjustly and only on the basis of the establishment's vindictiveness and vengefulness been hanged.

And let me thank the ECPM and the French Bar Association for helping all the people in the countries who take steps against human rights conventions and take the lives of other human beings.

Victor Hugo says "You insist on the example [of the death penalty]. Why? For what it teaches. What do you want to teach with your example? That thou shalt not kill. And how do you teach thou shalt not kill? By killing?"

Those pro capital punishment and those against, each have their own reasons to accept or reject capital punishment which is worth discussing and much has been written and spoken about this.

Apart from these pro and against arguments and reasonings, man who is not the life giver should not be allowed to take life. The death penalty is irreversible and it is possible that an innocent person is executed.

It is useless and ineffective in preventing crime, it is violent and does not intimidate. It contradicts the civilised society's norms and values.

Those who support capital punishment say that it defends society and brings about security, it is necessary to bring about justice and safeguard honour and reason. I agree with the first part. If one thinks deep, it can be concluded that execution is a means by which those who have the power, despots and dictators on one side and those who are unable to meet the internal challenges of the society on the other hand, kill in order to remain in power. Rulers who in the name of Islam and using it as their justification commit crimes against humanity.

Without showing any remorse, they consider stoning a domestic issue and intend to carry out such a barbaric and inhumane punishment.

Only Nigeria and Islamic Republic have not removed such an inhumane punishment form their penal code but the rulers of Islamic republic actively pursue this outrageous punishment.

Based on my own experiences speaking as someone who has managed to save fifty people from the death penalty, retributions and stoning, I believe execution is not a punishment fit for human beings.

Execution is a licence to kill for powerful leaders. Execution is an action that makes the act of killing easy and doable and reduces the obscenity and ugliness of murder, in particular for those who have the potential to commit crime. Execution is a cruel punishment. A punishment by which the innocent too get killed and become victims.

In some countries like the Islamic Republic, political and ideological offenders, also are not spared by the powerful rulers and are sentenced to execution without having a fair trial.

As an obvious and proven example in 1987 within two months, 2800 to 3800 people were executed by the Islamic Republic rulers.

These executions take place as a political tool and not based on legal and judicial processes but for vengeful purposes.

Ayatollah Khomeini's edict in that year was 'Since the 'hypocrites' are traitors and do not believe in Islam in any way and whatever they claim is based on deceit and hypocrisy and their leaders have confessed to have renegaded from Islam, considering their war with God, are condemned to execution'

With this general edict, many of Iran's citizens for political and ideological reasons have been executed and are executed.

Of course as I mentioned before these executions are used as a tool and are not based on a legal and judicial procedure where evidence is presented and the accused are assumed innocent until proven guilty.

As an example, a person faces the wrath of the rulers and is accused of having committed a crime. After being arrested is detained and charged with warring against God. Such detainments are illegal and the accused without being allowed to have a defence lawyer, is subjected to torture and forced to recant against themselves.

Protesting executions and
human rights abuses in Iran
Paris 2007

After having extracted such confessions, show trials are formed and the accused is sentenced to execution.

Widespread and mass executions by the rulers in the Islamic Republic has not attracted much attention by human rights organisations and institutions.

Yet the opportunity is made possible for the head of the Islamic Republic's administration to speak before the united nations in front of mass media and in order to divert attention from his own human rights abuses, challenges the 9/11 events and offends the survivors of this terrible tragedy.

It is necessary here for the world to know about the crimes committed by the Islamic Republic leaders against thousands of Iranian citizens. The unlawful and non-judicial executions in the last years and months requires the serious attention of human rights organisations.

UN Human Rights reporters, human rights organisations and institutions, states, noteworthy political, scientific and cultural figures should pay more attention. One can not ignore the execution of 15, 16 year old teenagers. One can not ignore the actions by rulers who subject their opponents through the worst interrogations, trials and long prison sentences or even executions. One can not ignore that the lives of human beings is taken in the cruelest way by being stoned. Do these crimes not deserve looking into and a fact finding committee?

There have also been executions in the Islamic Republic that have religious prejudicial aspects and are carried out by the edicts issued by religious jurists like the political extra judicial murders committed by Saeed Emami and his team.

In his interrogations, Saeed Emami says 'Since the beginning of the revolution to this day, I have been and remain obedient to the orders of the holy establishment of the Islamic Republic and the Supreme Leader. I have never carried out an order without having the permission of the high ranking members of the establishment. I have advised the officials whatever I have deemed expedient for the establishment and for Islam. I do not see myself as guilty, the elimination of dissidents has always been dictated to us and what we have done has been in accordance with our religious duties, it can not therefore be regarded as murder and crime

There are many like Saeed Emami in the Islamic Republic. The world witnessed that after a fraudulent election, the blood of tens of Iranian citizens was spilled in the streets based on this way of thinking and I call them extra judicial and arbitrary executions.

Another example that took place in this very country, France was that Mr. Vakili Rad in 1991, stabbed to death a prominent Iranian political figure, Shapour Bakhtiar. Bakhtiar's murderer, Vakili Rad was freed after 19 years and five months ago on 29th April this year at the same time as Clotilde Reiss was released, was welcomed by the Islamic Republic officials in Tehran's airport.

I believe human life should be respected at any time and under any conditions and must enjoy immunity whether by individuals or by states.

In Iran there are several kinds of executions and I do not have enough time to go through all of them and explain them.

The execution statistics in regards to murder and narcotics in Iran is more than other crimes, especially murder, even if it is not premeditated. In narcotics too, even if someone carries or sells 30 grams of heroin, he or she is sentenced to execution.

Some of the executions like the drugs related executions are not based on jurisprudence and many of them can be made more restricted. There are even cases where the crimes committed by the offenders are not defined in the penal code and the judge issues the sentence based on sharia and jurisprudence alone.

The punishment for apostasy is not mentioned in any of the penal code clauses of the Islamic Republic, yet some judges issue death sentences in such cases.

Recently Gilan's branch 11 court, has sentenced Yussef Badkhani to death based on apostasy. In previous years too, someone in Mashad by the name of Hossein Soodmand was accused of apostasy and was executed after he was sentenced to death.

It is regrettable that in this very week marked against executions, few days ago three ethnic Iranians were publicly executed in Sanandaj.

At the end, I declare that capital punishment for many reasons is wrong and must be eliminated. Fortunately the trend is that way and it would be appropriate for the United States president who won the Nobel Peace prize and talks highly of Human Rights, to set an example in other countries by removing capital punishment from United States's penal code.

By Mohammad Mostafaei, October 10, 2010, 8th World Day Against the Death Penalty