FEATURED POST

U.S. | 'I comfort death row inmates in their final moments - the execution room is like a house of horrors'

Published
Image
Reverend Jeff Hood, 40, wants to help condemned inmates 'feel human again' and vows to continue his efforts to befriend murderers in spite of death threats against his family A reverend who has made it his mission to comfort death row inmates in their final days has revealed the '"moral torture" his endeavor entails. Reverend Dr. Jeff Hood, 40, lives with his wife and five children in Little Rock, Arkansas. But away from his normal home life, he can suddenly find himself holding the shoulder of a murderer inside an execution chamber, moments away from the end of their life. 

Iran | Man Executed After Interpol Extradition From Malaysia

Published
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 20, 2023: State media have reported the execution of Shahrooz Sokhanvari who authorities claimed was arrested by Interpol in Malaysia and extradited to Iran in 2020.

Condemning the executions, Iran Human Rights demands Interpol be held accountable for handing Shahrooz Sokhanvari to Iran authorities.

Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “If, as Islamic Republic authorities claim, Interpol was involved in handing over Shahrooz Sokhanvari to Iran, they are complicit in his execution and must be held accountable.”

In a statement published in August 2022, Iran Human Rights questioned Interpol about its involvement in Sokhanvari’s extradition to Iran which was never answered.

According to the Judiciary’s Mizan news agency, a man was executed in Rajai Shahr on 20 May. His identity has been reported as 40-year-old Shahrooz Sokhanvari who was sentenced to death for charges of efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) for “human trafficking for prostitiution.” He helped sex workers travel abroad for work, per the report.

Shahrooz Sokhanvari was arrested by Interpol in Malaysia in September 2020 and deported to Iran. Iran Human Rights previously questioned Interpol about their role in his deportation.


Shahrooz Sokhanvari’s death sentence by the Tehran Revolutionary Court was reported by a Judiciary spokesperson on 16 August 2022. It is not clear when his sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Due to the vague definition, the charges of efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) are used for a wide range of offences. 

Article 286 of the Islamic Penal Code lists “establishing and running centres of corruption and prostitution” as one of the charges leading to the death penalty for efsad-fil-arz. 

Additionally, as it is within the Revolutionary Courts’ jurisdiction, there is considerable subjectivity in the judgements made in the cases.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, May 20, 2023


_____________________________________________________________________




_____________________________________________________________________


FOLLOW US ON:












HELP US KEEP THIS BLOG UP & RUNNING!



"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
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

U.S. | 'I comfort death row inmates in their final moments - the execution room is like a house of horrors'

Published
Image
Reverend Jeff Hood, 40, wants to help condemned inmates 'feel human again' and vows to continue his efforts to befriend murderers in spite of death threats against his family A reverend who has made it his mission to comfort death row inmates in their final days has revealed the '"moral torture" his endeavor entails. Reverend Dr. Jeff Hood, 40, lives with his wife and five children in Little Rock, Arkansas. But away from his normal home life, he can suddenly find himself holding the shoulder of a murderer inside an execution chamber, moments away from the end of their life. 
Read more

Iran Executes Prisoner in Front of Seven-year-old Son

Published
Image
The Islamic Republic's judiciary has executed one more prisoner amid a surge in the death penalty. Nategh Hosseini was executed at Qazvin Central Prison on Saturday, reportedly in the presence of his seven-year-old son.  According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, Hosseini had been arrested three years ago on charges of alleged murder and subsequently sentenced to death.
Read more

Texas Executes Ramiro Gonzales

Published
Image
Texas executed Ramiro Gonzales on Wednesday despite a stunning reversal from a psychiatrist who helped send him to death row 17 years ago.  Gonzales, 41, was killed by lethal injection as punishment for kidnapping, raping and murdering Bridget Townsend when they were both 18. At the time, Gonzales was struggling with drug addiction. He killed Townsend, his drug dealer’s girlfriend, while trying to steal drugs. He had turned 18 two months before the killing, making him barely old enough to be legally eligible to be sentenced to death.
Read more

Governor, AG push for Indiana’s first execution since 2009

Published
Image
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is one of 27 states where state-backed executions are still legal, but no one has been put to death in a Hoosier prison in 15 years. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb and Attorney General Todd Rokita look to change that. On Wednesday, Rokita’s office filed a motion with the Indiana Supreme Court seeking to set a date for the execution of Joseph Corcoran — a Fort Wayne man found guilty of murdering four people in 1997.
Read more

Oklahoma prepares to kill another man who says he's innocent

Published
Image
Richard Rojem’s death sentence was twice overturned by appellate courts, but his conviction itself has never been fully revisited. RICHARD ROJEM JR. had 20 minutes to address the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. Wearing a maroon prison uniform, he raised his cuffed right hand and swore to tell the truth, then gave his pitch for why his life should be spared. It would take less than 90 seconds.
Read more

Florida | Jury recommends death penalty for man who killed five women in Florida bank

Published
Image
Judge to decide fate of ex-prison guard trainee Zephen Xaver, who pleaded guilty to 2019 execution-style murders A jury on Wednesday recommended a former prison guard trainee be sentenced to death for his execution-style murders of five women inside a Florida bank five years ago. Jurors voted 9-3 to recommend Zephen Xaver, 27, receive the death penalty for the 23 January 2019 murders at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring, about 85 miles (135km) south-east of Tampa.
Read more