Can We Stop Iran’s Executions?

Iran this week hanged a young woman convicted of murdering her husband, whom she married while still a child, defying international pressure for her to be pardoned. The Islamic regime in Iran is engaged in a war against its own people as it executes them for minor offenses or no offense at all. Since the beginning of the year, Iran executed at least 419 people – a major increase from the same period in 2022.

As Human Rights Watch points out, “The charges against the protesters have included vaguely defined national security charges such as enmity against God (Moharebeh), corruption on earth (Ifsad filarz), and armed rebellion (baghi). All of the vaguely worded crimes are capital offenses. The rushed trial proceedings, in which defendants are apparently prevented from having a lawyer of their choice, appear to fall grossly short of international standards.”

Amnesty International said it was “horrified” by the reports of the “chilling execution” of the young woman, saying the mother of two was “subjected to a forced and early marriage as a child.”

The office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights said it was “alarmed” by the execution.

After the death last year of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country’s strict dress code for women, Iranian citizens poured into the streets to defy the government. For months, they protested the cruelty of the regime, but government forces launched a massive crackdown and pushed back hard, arresting thousands of people throughout the country.

The alarming rate of executions has drawn severe criticism from several corners including the UN and the US. In November, the UN said it deplored the executions of a 17-year-old and a 22-year old and urged Tehran to immediately stop applying the death penalty.

The UN Human Rights Office said it was troubled by Friday’s executions. “The execution of Hamidreza Azari, who was accused of murder, is the first reported execution of an alleged child offender in Iran this year,” spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell said in a statement.

According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group, Iran executed 582 people in 2022 but this year’s total is expected to be significantly higher.

As per IHR, the number of executions has surged to 707 individuals from the beginning of the current calendar year until the end of November, marking an unparalleled increase over the past eight years – and the year isn’t over yet.

Among those who were executed, 390 were sentenced to death on charges related to “drug offenses,” and 238 faced capital punishment on charges of “intentional murder,” as reported by IHR. Authorities executed at least one child offender and 17 women. The implementation of death sentences has intensified since October, with at least 200 individuals executed in Iran.

It is time for the UK, the EU, its member states and the US to take practical steps instead of simply verbally condemning Iran over its gross violations of human rights.

One of the ways the international community can pressure Iran is through diplomacy and dialogue, which it has already been doing to some extent.

A recent cyber attack in Iran which left gas stations across the country dysfunctional appears to have been the work of an unnamed foreign entity. Whether such cyber attacks can force the regime into complacency is not yet clear, but this method too has not proven itself yet.

The dire human rights situation in Iran calls for further measures against Iran but there are in fact few ways the international community can influence the regime beyond what it is already doing. While some Iranian human rights organizations have called for a regime replacement and some level of a coup d'état, it is unclear who exactly would replace the regime and how. The powerful IRGC military maintains a powerful grip over the country and it is unlikely anyone will be able to carry out such an ambitious plan.

A glance at Iraq and Saddam Hussein’s rule there demonstrates that a dictator could have total power one day and be hiding in a hole in the ground the next day. At the moment, it seems unlikely that the Iranian regime including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are going anywhere but in the Middle East region, anything can happen. Until something drastic occurs, the Iranian people will remain oppressed at the hands of their government as the regime wantonly executes civilians at will.

Source: counterpunch.org, Chloe Atkinson, December 22, 2023

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Facebook | Telegram | Contact Us

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog