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Biden Fails a Death Penalty Abolitionist’s Most Important Test

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The mystery of Joe Biden’s views about capital punishment has finally been solved. His decision to grant clemency to 37 of the 40 people on federal death row shows the depth of his opposition to the death penalty. And his decision to leave three of America’s most notorious killers to be executed by a future administration shows the limits of his abolitionist commitment. The three men excluded from Biden’s mass clemency—Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers—would no doubt pose a severe test of anyone’s resolve to end the death penalty. Biden failed that test.
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Iran | Kurdish Man Executed in Ardabil

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 20, 2023: Siamand Bukani, a Kurdish man sentenced to death for drug-related charges, was executed in Ardabil Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a Kurdish man was executed in Ardabil Central Prison on 20 November. His identity has been established as 40-year-old Siamand Bukani (Ostovar) from the village of Dangaz.

He had two children and had been arrested in Ardabil around two years ago. Siamand was sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Siamand Bukani was transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution on 17 November along with a murder death row prisoner. The other prisoner was returned to his cell after obtaining a one-month extension in his case.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year for the past three years. At least 305 people were executed for drug-related charges between 1 January-10 October 2023, a 69% increase compared to the same period in 2022, and the number of drug-related executions in 2023 were close to 20 times higher than 2020.

The number of drug executions dramatically dropped in 2018 following a 2017 Amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Laws. Consequently, drug executions ranged between 24-30 per annum between 2018-2020. The Amendment was reversed in practice in 2021 when executions increased ten-fold to 126 in 2021 and doubled again in 2022 with 256 drug-related executions. On 13 September 2023, IHRNGO reported a 94% rise in the number of drug-related executions in the year following the start of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in September 2022.

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


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Location: Ardabil, Ardabil Province, Iran
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