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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.

11 Prisoners Executed in Iran on The Eve of World Day Against the Death Penalty

On the eve of World Day Against the Death Penalty, judicial authorities in Iran executed 11 prisoners, including a woman and a retired educator, at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Alborz Province early on Wednesday, October 9.

On Wednesday, at least 11 prisoners, including six “security” prisoners, a woman, and a retired educator, were executed by the judicial authorities of the Iranian regime at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Alborz Province.

Previously, the Iranian regime has repeatedly sentenced its opposing citizens to death under charges such as “espionage, corruption on earth, warfare, and rebellion,” executing some of them.

According to this report, among those executed were two citizens from Sistan and Baluchestan identified as “Ahmad Narouei, 33 years old, and Mohammad Eshaq-Zehi, 31 years old, both from and residing in Zahedan.” Another executed individual was identified as Saeed Safaie, approximately 55 years old, from Harsin in Kermanshah Province, who was a retired educator.

One of the executed individuals has been identified as Mehdi Barahuyi, who reportedly was underage at the time of his arrest and was less than 18 years old.

Concurrently with these executions and on the eve of World Day Against the Death Penalty, Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, stated in a video message for the 24-hour support program of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign that at least 500 executions have been reported in Iran since the beginning of the current Gregorian year, which, according to her, includes the use of the death penalty against female activists and supporters of the nationwide protests of 2022.

Additionally, between October 10, 2023, and October 8, 2024, at least 811 people were executed by hanging in various regions of Iran, with four of these executions taking place in public.

During this period, death sentences were issued for 186 prisoners, with the ruling for three of them being execution in public.

The Iranian regime has increased the number of executions amidst its adventures in the Middle East. In this way, the regime aims to prevent the outbreak of widespread protests like that occurred in 2022.

October 10th is designated as World Day Against the Death Penalty. This day was first introduced and named in 2003 by the “World Coalition Against the Death Penalty” to support the abolition of the death penalty and raise awareness of the conditions of prisoners sentenced to death.

Source: Iran Focus, Staff, October 9, 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



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