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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 | Executions in Qazvin, Shiraz; Woman Hanged in Mashhad

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 17, 2024: Jafar Aslani, a man on death row for drug offences, was executed in Qazvin Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Qazvin Central Prison (Choobindar) on 15 May. His identity has been established as 40-year-old Jafar Aslani who was arrested for drug offences three years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

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 since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”

Man executed in Shiraz


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 17, 2024: Reza Ghobadi, a man on death row for drug offences, was executed in Shiraz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Shiraz Central Prison (Adel Abad) on 14 May. His identity has been established as 35-year-old Reza Ghobadi who was arrested for drug offences five years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

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

Unidentified Woman Executed in Mashhad


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 17, 2024: State media have reported the execution of a woman only named as Razieh for murder charges in Mashhad Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman was executed in Mashhad Central Prison on 15 May 2024. Her identity has only been reported as 37-year-old Razieh who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

In January 2017, she is reported to have killed her two young children and tried to take her own life while “in the throes of economic and social problems.” Her life was saved when her family arrived at the scene.

Iran is the biggest executioner of women. In 2023, at least 22 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related charges in Iran. Razieh is the seventh woman to be executed in 2024.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, May 16-17, 2024

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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: Iran
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