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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 Urmia, Isfahan, Hamedan

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 23, 2024: Loghman Ahmadi Aghdam (Shengeh), a Kurdish man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Urmia Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a Kurdish man was executed in Urmia (Darya) Central Prison on 23 December. His identity has been established 45-year-old Loghman Ahmadi Aghdam (known as Loghman Shengeh) from Naghdeh who was arrested six years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related charges 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. In the first six months of 2024, at least 147 people were executed for the charges.

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.”

Execution in Isfahan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 23, 2024: Ashkan Parseh, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Isfahan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Isfahan Central Prison on 21 December. His identity has been established 29-year-old Ashkan Parseh from Aligudarz who was arrested four years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Arman Samadi was previously reported to have been executed for the same charges at the prison that day.

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

Execution in Hamedan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 23, 2024: Mohammad Shamsollahi, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Hamedan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 18 December. His identity has been established 35-year-old Mohammad Shamsollahi from Asad Abad in Hamedan who was arrested a few years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

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

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, December 23, 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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