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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.

Young Jewish Man Faces Imminent Execution in Iran

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A young Jewish man on death row for an alleged murder in Iran is at imminent risk of execution, according to human rights sources.

The Islamic Republic's Supreme Court has rejected Arvin Ghahremani's appeal, who is imprisoned in Kermanshah Central Prison, for the second time.

Ghahremani, 20, was sentenced to death for an alleged murder that took place during a street fight when he was 18.

Initially, the victim's family had agreed to accept blood money in place of execution, but they have since rejected this option due to Ghahremani's religion, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization.

The organization has called for an immediate halt to the execution and is urging international intervention.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Director of the organization, said, "In addition to the inhumanity of the death penalty and the lack of fair trial rights or an independent judiciary, the judicial process of Arvin Ghahremani, as a member of a religious minority in the Islamic Republic—where discrimination is institutionalized—has been more unfair than usual. At this point, only international pressure can save Arvin's life."

According to Ghahremani's family, the incident occurred in self-defense when the victim attacked him with a weapon.

Ghahremani reportedly attempted to save the victim's life after the altercation, but medical assistance was delayed.

The court-appointed lawyer reportedly did not effectively defend Ghahremani, and his right to self-defense was not properly presented during the case.

"Arvin’s previous appeal was also rejected without serious consideration, and many important events leading to the stabbing were ignored," the Iran Human Rights Organization said in a statement on Friday.

Ghahremani's case has ignited fears within Iran's Jewish community, raising concerns about the additional challenges faced by religious minorities in the country's legal system. 

Human rights activists argue that the case exemplifies the discriminatory application of Iran's execution laws. 

These laws, rooted in religious ideology, mandate capital punishment when a non-Muslim kills a Muslim, while a Muslim who kills a non-Muslim faces only financial compensation.

This legal disparity is seen as a significant hurdle to fair trials and civil rights in Iran. 

Activists warn that the application of unequal penalties for the murder of non-Muslims has fueled extrajudicial killings, particularly against members of the Baha'i faith.

Source: Iran Wire, Staff, September 27, 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: Iran
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