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| Soldiers destroying alcohol in Iran |
The Khorasan justice department has confirmed the death penalty for 2 individuals who were caught drinking alcohol for the 3rd time.
ISNA reports that Hojjatoleslam Hassan Shariati, the head of the Khorasan justice department, told a press conference: “The execution sentence for the 2 people who had been caught using alcoholic beverages has been confirmed and is now in process.”
He added: “We will not show mercy in alcoholic beverage offences and we will sentence the offenders to the harshest letter of the law.”
In 2007, in an unprecedented move, the Tehran criminal court sentenced an alcoholic to death. He had been caught offending for the fourth time; however, he was later acquitted.
The judge in Tehran had stipulated that according to the Islamic penal code, if an individual is flogged twice for alcohol offences, the third offence could receive the death penalty.
Unofficial reports indicate that consumption of alcoholic beverages is on the rise in Iran.
Shargh Newspaper recently reported that according to traffic police, 26 % of drivers stopped by police test positive for drug and alcohol use.
Iran's 'hidden' alcoholism problem
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| Public flogging in Iran |
Iranian health officials have expressed deep concern over rising alcohol intake, calling for measures to tackle the issue.
The warning is significant given that Iran banned alcohol after the 1979 Islamic revolution. But there is no consensus on how to address the problem. Some authorities have tried to cover up the issue.
Although there had been warnings by low-key figures over the level of alcohol intake, it was a recent statement by a senior health official that led to an intense debate about how to tackle the problem.
"We receive worrying reports from hospitals and physicians about an increase in alcohol consumption in the southern districts of Tehran," said Baqer Larijani, the head of the Health Ministry's Policy-Making Council.
Abbasali Nasehi, the director-general of the Health Ministry's Mental Health Department, expressed similar concerns, saying: "We have little information about alcohol addiction in the country. We have around two million [drug] addicts in the country, and some of them are also addicted to alcohol."
Iran's police chief, Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, had previously said there were only 200,000 alcoholics in Iran, but others had cast doubts about the figure, saying it would be higher.
It is estimated that around 60m to 80m litres of alcoholic drinks are smuggled to Iran each year. This amount is in addition to the spirits made domestically, including the popular "araq" made from fermenting and distilling raisins.
References to wine and drinking are an inseparable part of Persian poetry. But since the revolution, the authorities have tried to interpret these purely within a spiritual context, especially because the late Ayatollah Khomeini used the same terminology in his poetry.
Alcohol was banned and bars closed down a few months after the revolution. With the introduction of Islamic law, or Shariah, drinkers faced severe punishments such as hefty fines and even public lashings.
Prohibition in numbers:
- Alcohol was banned in 1979
- 200,000 alcoholics in Iran
- 829 drivers banned in 2011/2012 after alcohol related offences
- 60-80 million litres or $730m of alcohol smuggled into Iran each year
- 80% is smuggled in from Iran's western border
- 69% increase in seizures over the past year
- It is estimated that only 20-30% is actually confiscated
Source: BBC News, June 2012
Death penalty sentence for two Iranians for “third offense” of consuming alcoholic beverages
Universal Tolerance (UTO) -- Yesterday, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s news agencies reported that according to Razavi Khorasan’s Chief of Justice, the Supreme Court have confirmed the death penalty sentence for two Iranians for “third offense” of consuming alcoholic beverages.
Hassan Shariati told ISNA news agency, without revealing the name of the convicted or details of the case, that the execution is in process.
It is not surprising to see people like these two being murdered by officials who who claim muslimhood and have law enforcement authority, but if Razavi Khorasan’s Chief of Justice had the slightest knowledge of the criminal law, he would not allow the punishment of those who have been recommended for leniency in the criminal code.
Article 179 of Islamic Penal Code, approved in 1996, states that “whenever a person consumes alcohol and is punished [by lashes] each time, they should be killed the third time”; however, not only this law has never been enforced in Iran, but also, more importantly, it has been abolished in the new Islamic Penal Code and judicial judges can no longer sentence the convicted to death in such circumstances. Even though the new Islamic Penal Code has been approved by Guardian Council and the parliament has sent it to the president for announcements through official newspapers, the president is required to notify the official newspapers as soon as possible to publish the new law. We have to try and preserve the rights of the suspects and convicts for whom the law has recommended leniency; thus, it is unfair to allow execution of people convicted of such crimes.
The new Islamic Penal Code may not conform to human rights standards, but in some cases it has been modified to benefit the convicts, including cases like this where death penalty have been abolished for people with third offenses punished by Sharia Law.
Based on my explanation above, the death penalty for these two young men is against the law and justice and needs to be revoked. Nonetheless, these convicts can also ask for “forgiveness”.
Source: Universal Tolerance Organization, Mohammad Mostafaei and [name deleted by request], June 25, 2012
Iranian pair face death penalty after 3rd alcohol offence
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| Medieval and barbaric punishments: Public flogging in Iran |
2 people previously lashed 160 times for consuming alcohol, which is forbidden under Islamic Sharia law
2 Iranians have been sentenced to death for persistent consumption of alcohol under the country's Islamic Sharia law, which forbids the use, manufacturing and trading of all types of alcoholic drinks.
The 2, who have not been named by the authorities, have each previously been lashed 160 times after twice being arrested for consuming alcohol. Being convicted for the 3rd time makes them liable for the death penalty.
The head of the judiciary Seyed Hasan Shariati, based in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan Razavi, told the semi-official Isna news agency that the supreme court had upheld their death sentences and that officials were preparing for their execution.
"2 people who committed the offence of consuming alcohol for the 3rd time have been sentenced to be executed. The verdict has been confirmed by the supreme court and we are preparing to administer it," he said.
Under Iranian Sharia law, certain crimes such as sodomy, rape, theft, fornication, apostasy and consumption of alcohol for the third time are considered to be "claims of God" and therefore have mandatory death sentences.
Sentences for such crimes, which are called Hodud in the Islamic terminology, are not at the discretion of the judge but are defined by Sharia law.
For some of these crimes, including theft and lesbianism, the death penalty is only handed down if the convict is a re-offender who has already been punished 3 times for the same crime in the past. In the case of alcohol, the death penalty comes on the 3rd offence.
According to Shadi Sadr, an Iranian lawyer based in London, a decision on whether such a punishment can be issued depends on the judge's knowledge – a loophole which allows for subjective judicial rulings where no conclusive evidence is presented.
"Prostitutes are often victims of such punishment and can be given a death sentence," Sadr said. "Because having illicit sexual relationships is their job and they often get caught by the police it's very likely that they will have committed the crime 3 times in the past."
In crimes related to alcohol consumption, Shariati warned: "We will show no mercy in finding, trying and punishing those breaking the law and we will punish them to the highest extent."
Despite the ban, many people in Iran drink alcohol, usually a homemade liquor called araq, which contains 45% pure ethanol. It is usually mixed before consumption and can be dangerous because of the ethanol used in its distillation.
Hosts who throw parties call an alcohol vendor who delivers it to the door. Western alcohol is smuggled to Iran and can be found in underground markets but can be costly. People who belong to non-Muslim minorities such as Christians and Armenians, which are recognised by the authorities, are allowed to produce and consume alcohol in the country.
In a rare acknowledgement of Iran's hidden alcohol consumption, which has become - as Golnaz Esfandiari of Persian Letters puts it in her blog - a "means of escape" for the young from state restrictions, a senior official in the country's health ministry warned recently against reports of an increase in its use.
Source: The Guardian, June 25, 2012
