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After acquittal of ex-death row inmate, debate needed on Japan's death penalty

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Japan should be ensuring the safety of its citizens, but instead it is taking people's lives. Is it acceptable to maintain the ultimate penalty under such circumstances? This is a serious question for society. The acquittal of 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada, who had been handed the death penalty, has been finalized after prosecutors decided not to appeal the verdict issued by the Shizuoka District Court during his retrial.

Iran | 9 Executions in 2 days

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According to reports received by Iran Human Rights Monitor, the Iranian judiciary carried out the execution sentences of 9 individuals on Saturday and Sunday, July 20th and 21st, in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, and Diezelabad Prison in Kermanshah.

Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj


On Sunday, July 21, 2024, four prisoners named Davoud Barahoui, Saeed Mohammadpour, Mehdi Aliakbari, and another prisoner were hanged in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. All four prisoners had been sentenced to execution on charges related to drug offenses.. Davoud Barahoui, a 47-year-old father of seven, belonged to the Baloch ethnic group and had been imprisoned since 2018. Mehdi Aliakbari, a 49-year-old married man with two children, was a resident of Tehran. He was arrested in Tehran in 2021 and sentenced to execution.

Diezelabad prison in Kermanshah


On Sunday, July 21, 2024, the execution sentence of a prisoner named Danial Kazeminejad was carried out at Diezelabad prison Prison in Kermanshah. He was accused of killing a member of the Revolutionary Guards named Sajjad Amiri in an armed clash in the Karnachi neighborhood of Kermanshah on June 10, 2023.Sajjad Amiri was a member of the Revolutionary Guards who had also been deployed to Syria. Government agencies referred to him as a “martyr and defender of security.”

Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz


On the morning of Saturday, July 20, 2024, the execution sentences of three men and one woman were carried out at Shiraz Central Prison. The identities of these prisoners were confirmed as Mansour Tavakoli, Hamed Shekaste, both 40 years old, who were both sentenced to execution on charges of “intentional murder.” The identity of the third prisoner was confirmed as Mohsen Ostovari.

Execution of a female prisoner (Adel Abad Prison)


On the morning of Sunday, July 21, 2024, the execution order of a female prisoner was carried out at Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz. This woman, whose name was Mahmoudi Nia (first name unspecified), was executed on charges of murder. Ms. Mahmoudi Nia had been arrested and sentenced to capital punishment for the murder of her fiancé. She was not willing to marry him and had been forced into the marriage by her family against her will.

Source: Human Rights Monitor, Staff, July 22, 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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