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U.S. Presidential Election 2024: Death penalty absent from campaign, but not from minds

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Kamala Harris, once openly opposed to the death penalty despite political costs, now avoids the topic as a candidate. Meanwhile, Donald Trump advocates tougher criminal policies, though presidential authority in this area is limited. A few blocks from downtown Richmond, Virginia, the intersection of Spring Street and Belvidere Street now presents a completely different view. Where once stood a grim, old brick building, there is now a modern building with a glass facade reflecting the sun shining on Virginia’s capital. Trees along the wide Belvidere Street give the neighborhood a promenade-like feel, with the James River flowing nearby along the memorial for American war dead.

Iran | Man at Risk of Execution in Karaj due to High Diya (Blood Money) Demand

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); July 23, 2024: Omid Assadi who is on death row after unintentionally killing a man in a car accident, is scheduled to be executed on 22 August if his family cannot raise the €160k demanded diya amount.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a Saqqez native named Omid Assadi is at risk of execution in Karaj Penitentiary. He was arrested after being involved in a car accident that caused the death of the other driver.

Omid was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder and has been set a deadline by Branch 6 of the Karaj Criminal Court to pay the 10 billion tomans (around €160,000) diya (blood money) demanded by the victim’s family. Omid’s family have until 22 August 2024 to raise the amount which they cannot afford.

His father, Ataollah Assadi told Iran Human Rights: “Omid’s execution was scheduled to be carried out in early June but we managed to obtain more time. In this time, I suffered one heart attack and my wife had two heart attacks due to the pressures of trying to save our son’s life.”

According to his father, Omid was the sole breadwinner of his family and has a son who suffers from thalassaemia disease.

Those charged with the umbrella term of “intentional murder” are sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) regardless of intent or circumstances due to a lack of grading in law. Once a defendant has been convicted, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.

The Head of Judiciary sets an annual indicative amount for diya based on inflation and other considerations, but the victim’s family can choose their own amount. They can demand a lower or higher amount than the judiciary’s indicative number but crucially, no upper limit is set. 

The diya indicative amounts, which are determined every March, were set at 900 million tomans (€18,000) for a Muslim man and 450 million tomans (€9,000) for a Muslim woman in March 2023. 

The amount set by families is usually higher than the indicative amount and even the indicative amount is higher than what most families can afford.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, July 23, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________








"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: Karaj, Alborz Province, Iran
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