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Biden Has 65 Days Left in Office. Here’s What He Can Do on Criminal Justice.

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Judicial appointments and the death penalty are among areas where a lame-duck administration can still leave a mark. Donald Trump’s second presidential term will begin on Jan. 20, bringing with it promises to dramatically reshape many aspects of the criminal justice system. The U.S. Senate — with its authority over confirming judicial nominees — will also shift from Democratic to Republican control.
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Iran | Group Hanging of 10 Including a Woman in Ghezel Hesar Prison; Protest Outside Prison Violently Crushed

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 16, 2024: At least nine people including a woman, an Afghan national and two Kurdish minorities were executed for murder and drug-related charges in Ghezel Hesar Prison on Wednesday. 

Ahmad Alizadeh was previously reported to have been executed that day, bringing the total number of people executed that day to ten. At least five others have been transferred for execution.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least nine people including a woman were executed in Ghzel Hesar Prison on 13 November. Four of the men were on death row for drug-related offences and have been identified as Hamzeh Tarkashvand (Kurdish), Jafaar Rastegar (Kurdish), Jafar Rahsepari and Mohsen Moradi.

The other four men and woman were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. The identity of the woman has not been established at the time of writing. The men have been identified as Iraj Ahadi (known as Yatim), Sajad Shoja, Saman Bozorgi and Khaled Tajik, an Afghan national.

Ahmad Alizadeh was previously reported to have been executed that day, bringing the total number of executions to ten at the prison.

A group of abolitionist activists and death row families gathered to peacefully protest outside the prison which was met with a crackdown by the police and prison guards. According to informed sources, there were severe clashes between the security forces and protesters.

Of the ten recorded executions that day, only four were reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

On 15 November, another five prisoners on death row for murder and rape, were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions.

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. Crucially, while an indicative amount is set by the Judiciary every year, there is no legal limit to how much can be demanded by families of the victims. IHRNGO has recorded many cases where defendants are executed because they cannot afford to pay the blood money.

In 2023, at least 282 people including two juvenile offenders and 15 women, were executed for murder charges, the second highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 20% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2023, Iran Human Rights also recorded 857 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, November 16, 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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