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Japan | Hakamada case underscores folly of maintaining death penalty

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The Tokyo High Court’s decision on March 13 to grant a retrial for an 87-year-old man who spent decades on death row strongly shows that he was wrongly convicted. The retrial should be held immediately to provide a legal remedy for Iwao Hakamada. In granting the retrial in the high-profile case, the high court said reasonable doubt has arisen on the guilt of Hakamada. He was arrested on suspicion of murder in August 1966, two months after an executive of a miso-producing company and three of his family members were killed in what is now Shizuoka. Hakamada, who had worked at the miso company, spent most of his adult life in detention. His latest request for a retrial was filed 15 years ago.

Iran | Four Men Including Brothers Executed for Drug Charges in Kerman

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); January 31, 2023: Four men including two brothers sentenced to death for drug-related charges, were executed in Kerman Central Prison. 

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men were executed in Kerman Central Prison on January 30. 

Their identities have been established as Rasoul Safarzayi and Abidollah Safarzayi, Habibollah Sarani and Mr Behzadi (first name unknown). 

They were all sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

50-year-old Rasoul and 34-year-old Abidollah were brothers and arrested at a checkpoint over two years ago. 

Both married, Rasoul had four children and Abidollah, three children.

At the time of writing, none of their executions have been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

On January 27, Iran Human Rights warned of the high number of drug executions currently being carried out in Iran. Of the 55 executions in the first 26 days of 2023, 37 were for drug-related offences.

Drug executions dramatically dropped between 2018-2020 following the Amendment to the Anti-Drug Laws in 2017. However, this reversed in practice in 2021 when numbers increased by five-fold and have continued to rise throughout 2022 and 2023.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, January 31, 2023


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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: Kerman, Kerman Province, Iran
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