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Texas sets execution date for man accused in shaken baby case

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Lawyers for Robert Robertson say the science used to sentence him to death is questionable and that prior health issues could explain the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2003. A Texas court on Monday set an execution date for Robert Roberson, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for killing his 2-year-old daughter but has consistently challenged the conviction on the claim that it was based on questionable science.

Iran | 6 Baluch Men Secretly Executed in Birjand Last Month

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Iran Human Rights (IHR); May 26, 2021: Six Baluch prisoners on death row for drug-related charges, were secretly executed in Birjand Central Prison in late April.

According to the Baloch Activists Campaign, six Baluch men were executed in Birjand Central Prison on April 24. 

They had all been sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

One of them has been named as Javad Nakhaei but no information is available on the other five men’s identities.

At the time of writing and despite almost a month passing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Two other Baluch minorities, Abdullah and Younes Totazehi, were also executed on drug-related charges in Birjand Central Prison on May 19.

It has been almost four years since an Article was added to the Anti-Narcotics Law in 2017 to limit death sentences specifically and provide a general degree of reprieve in some cases. 

However, while the numbers reduced that year, the death penalty is still being used in drug-related cases.

According to Iran Human Rights’ Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, at least 25 people were executed on drug-related charges in 2020. 

However, at least 35 people have so far been executed on drug-related charges in 2021, the majority of whom have been Baluch minorities.

On May 3, IHR published a report on the death penalty in the first four months of 2021 expressing concern at the significant increase in the number of drug-related executions and continues to warn of the continuation of this trend.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, May 26, 2021


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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Location: Iran
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