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

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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 | 4 Prisoners at Risk of Finger Amputations Post Sham Presidential Elections

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); June 28, 2024: Mehdi Sharifian, Kasra Karami, Hadi Rostami and Mehdi Shahivand are imminent risk of having their fingers amputated for theft charges in Urmia Central Prison.

Iran Human Rights warns of the four men’s sentences being carried out in the days following the presidential elections.

Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “Usually, after a relative reduction in the implementation of the death penalty with the aim of encouraging people to vote, Islamic Republic authorities immediately start a horror show to create societal fear and remind the public of their true nature. As such, there’s a serious danger of amputation and death sentences being carried out in the coming days and weeks. The public and international community can increase the cost of implementing such sentences for the Islamic Republic by protesting and reacting appropriately.”

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men are at risk of finger amputations in Urmia Central Prison. Their identities have been established as Mehdi Sharifian, Kasra Karami, Hadi Rostami and Mehdi Shahivand who were sentenced to have the four fingers on their right hand amputated for theft charges.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “In recent days, the West Azerbaijan Chief Justice and Urmia prosecutor have met and informed them that ‘your sentences will be carried out and any appeal request will be rejected.’”

“The four prisoners had previously requested amnesty but the province’s judiciary rejected the requests and told them: ‘wait, your sentences will be carried out.’ Their sentence will probably be carried out in the coming days,” the source added.

Mehdi Sharifian, Kasra Karami, Hadi Rostami and Mehdi Shahivand were transferred to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary in December for the implementation of their sentences but were returned to Urmia Central Prison for unknown reasons.

On 12 June 2022, IHRNGO warned that seven men were at risk of inhuman amputations in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary. Due to the Iranian judiciary’s lack of transparency, the exact number of those awaiting amputation in Iranian prisons is unknown but it is estimated that tens of prisoners are currently at risk of the inhumane punishment.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, June 28, 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: Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
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