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Biden Fails a Death Penalty Abolitionist’s Most Important Test

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The mystery of Joe Biden’s views about capital punishment has finally been solved. His decision to grant clemency to 37 of the 40 people on federal death row shows the depth of his opposition to the death penalty. And his decision to leave three of America’s most notorious killers to be executed by a future administration shows the limits of his abolitionist commitment. The three men excluded from Biden’s mass clemency—Dylann Roof, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers—would no doubt pose a severe test of anyone’s resolve to end the death penalty. Biden failed that test.
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Iran | Executions in Tabriz, Rasht

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 14, 2024: Hadi Fallah, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Tabriz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Tabriz Central Prison on 9th October. His identity has been established as 31-year-old Hadi Fallah from Eram-Tabriz. 

An informed source told IHRNGO that Hadi was arrested for carrying drugs along with another individual three years ago. Hadi was sentenced to death, and his co-defendant was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Execution is Rasht


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 14, 2024: Iman Bakhshayesh, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Rasht Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Rasht Central Prison on 9th October. His identity has been established as Iman Bakhshayesh from Bijarieh-Lahijan. 

An informed source told IHRNGO that Iman was arrested for drug-related offences about four years ago and sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020. At least 279 people were executed for the charges between January-9 October.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, October 14, 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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