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Activists Call on President Biden to End the Federal Death Penalty Before Leaving Office

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A conversation with Death Penalty Action Co-founder and Executive Director Abe Bonowitz. Now that Joe Biden is a lame duck president, activists are holding him accountable to make good on his promise to end the federal death penalty during his remaining six months as president. Biden’s election campaign in 2020 had pledged to end the federal death penalty and incentivize the remaining 27 states that still allow executions to do the same. While he made history as the first president in the United States to openly oppose the death penalty, there has been no movement to actually end federal executions during his nearly four years in office.

Iran’s Judiciary Issued 35 Death Sentences in One Month

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Human rights activists in Iran state that in January, the Iranian regime’s judiciary set a new record for issuing death sentences in the past year with 35 death sentences. The regime also executed 86 individuals in the same month.

On February 8, the  Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that the examination of the issuance and execution of death sentences from January 2023 to January 2024 indicates a continuous increase in the number of executions compared to the number of newly issued death sentences.

The recent intensification of issuing and executing death sentences in Iran has been met with strong reactions. In this context, the European Parliament passed a resolution on Friday, February 8, calling for the immediate release of all those sentenced to death and political prisoners in Iran.

Earlier on January 15, Abram Paley, the Deputy of the Special Representative of the United States for Iranian Affairs, strongly condemned the Iranian regime’s use of the death penalty, one day after the execution of 13 Iranian citizens.

Human rights activists in Iran also published a report on October 9, 2023, simultaneous with the “World Day Against the Death Penalty,” detailing the extent of executions from October 9, 2022, to October 7, 2023, to draw public attention to the situation of “thousands awaiting the execution of their sentences.”

According to this report, at least “659 individuals” in various regions of Iran have been executed by “hanging” during this period, representing an approximately 24% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.

Also according to a report by the Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran HRM) in January 2024, the statistics of executions in Iran have seen a significant increase, with the Iranian judiciary executing 88 individuals. This marks a 39% growth compared to January 2023 when the Iran regime executed 63 people, and a staggering 91% growth compared to January 2022 when 46 individuals were executed. These calculations indicate a disturbing upward trend in the number of executions in Iran, and the Iranian judiciary has employed a ruthless approach in carrying out these executions, which is highly concerning.

The Hengaw Human Rights Organization also stated in a report on the human rights situation in Iran in the year 2023 that the Islamic Republic had detained at least 2,342 citizens and handed over a minimum of 823 prisoners to execution squads during the year.

Source: iranfocus.com, Sia Rajabi, February 9, 2024

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