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Arkansas Supreme Court Decision Allows New DNA Testing in Case of the ​“West Memphis Three,” Convicted of Killing Three Children in 1993

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On April 18, 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided 4-3 to reverse a 2022 lower court decision and allow genetic testing of crime scene evidence from the 1993 killing of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis. The three men convicted in 1994 for the killings were released in 2011 after taking an Alford plea, in which they maintained their innocence but plead guilty to the crime, in exchange for 18 years’ time served and 10 years of a suspended sentence. 

Iran: 20 Individuals to Be Lashed For "Eating During Fasting Hours"

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Public flogging in Iran
NCRI - Iran’s public prosecutor in the city of Ghazvin, northwest Iran, said 20 individuals are sentenced to lashing and financial fines for “eating during fasting hours.”

These individuals are amongst the 90 persons who were arrested on such charges in this city, said Ismaeel Sadeghi Nia on June 11th to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

“People who are seen eating in public during fasting hours will be arrested and they will be punished if it’s determined they had done so with knowledge,” he added.

In 2014 the public prosecutor in this city reported 200 individuals in Ghazvin Province in total were lashed for “eating during fasting hours” and described it as “unprecedented.”

Source: NCRI, June 12, 2017


Iran: 20 people lashed for eating or drinking during Ramadan fasting hours


Iran Human Rights (JUNE 12 2017): Since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, about 90 case files were reportedly opened in the city of Qazvin (central Iran) for individuals who were caught eating or drinking during the fasting hours. The Iranian state-run media, Mehr, announced the news, citing the Prosecutor of Qazvin.

According to the Qazvin Prosecutor, 20 individuals were issued flogging sentences and fines on the same day as their arrests, and their sentences were reportedly carried out on the same day as well.

Flogging is a clear example of torture and a violation of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Carrying out a flogging sentence is inhumane, but it is justified by Article 638 of Iran's Islamic Penal Code, which states: Anyone in public places and roads who openly commits a harām (sinful) act, in addition to the punishment provided for the act, shall be sentenced to two months’ imprisonment or up to 74 lashes...

Iran Human Rights condemns the implemented flogging sentences and calls for this inhumane punishment to be removed from Iran's laws.

Source: Iran Human Rights, June 12, 2017

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Location: Qazvin, Qazvin Province, Iran
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