Death Penalty News

Mohammad Abdullah al-Faraj is originally from al-Awamiyah, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. He lived in Dammam and was working as an employee in the private sector. In 2011 and 2012, he allegedly participated in demonstrations and funerals that took place in al-Qatif district in Saudi Arabia protesting the treatment of Shi’a citizens. He was abducted from his workplace on February 28, 2017, by officials from the Mabahith (General Investigation Directorate or GID). Mohammad Abdullah al-Faraj was never informed that he was accused of any crime.

Industrial action began on Friday, with thousands of workers downing tools in state-owned factories The Belarus opposition has called for a general strike from Monday, after tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the capital Minsk for the biggest rally in recent history, a further sign that the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko is fast losing support. The opposition call for a strike follows industrial action on Friday,by thousands of workers at state-controlled factories, a traditional support base for Lukashenko. Striking workers walked out of vehicle factories, oil refineries and fabric and fertiliser manufacturers, spurred on by the level of police violence against protesters in the week since election results gave Lukashenko 80% of the vote. The authoritarian ruler on Sunday rejected calls to step down in a defiant speech, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said Moscow stood ready to provide help in accordance with a collective military pact if...

On August 1, the Iranian regime state-run news website Sotareh Sohb published an article that looked back on the country’s two recent uprisings and commented upon the conditions that had contributed to such widespread unrest. The article unequivocally declared that nationwide demonstrations “will happen again,” on account of the protesters’ grievances having not been addressed in the roughly nine months since the second uprising was suppressed by regime authorities.  The details of that repression make the article’s prediction of renewed unrest all the more remarkable, especially coming from a state-run outlet‌. This article reflects the regime’s utmost fear of another uprising and how it is inevitable. Sotareh Sohb implied that the Iranian people’s frustration with the mullahs’ regime is severe enough to overcome the deterrent effects of violent crackdowns on dissent.  This was already clear to many observers after the January 2018 uprising gave rise to numerous lo...

14 Activists Arrested Today at U.S. Supreme Court to Commemorate 35th Anniversary of First Execution Participants from Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, New Mexico, DC, Utah, Vermont, Kansas and New York were there to peacefully and visibly call for an immediate cessation of all executions in the United States through civil disobedience and the risk of arrest. The group included several murder victim family members, family of the incarcerated, and national leaders in the death penalty abolition movement. One of the participants who was arrested was Randy Gardner, whose brother, like Gilmore, was executed in Utah by firing squad. "My Brother Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed June 18th 2010 by the same state, by the same method as Gilmore. I believed then, and I still believe now, that the death penalty is morally wrong. I'm here to help abolish the death penalty by protesting in any shape or form.” And, using Gilmore’s last words, he says, “Let’s do it." 35 years ago, on J...

In preparing demonstrators for execution and proposing to revive a judicial police force, the Tehran regime further shames itself. A new phase of political killings is set to begin in Iran with the trial of 5 demonstrators charged with being mohareb a description for someone who fights against Islam. Tehran's "general and revolutionary" prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, told the Iranian news agency, IRNA, that those who "set fire to vehicles and committed other crimes" could be regarded as mohareb and will be dealt with in revolutionary courts. He said the cases against them had been "prepared by security forces, after taking their confessions". The usual punishment for being a mohareb in the Islamic Republic is execution. In other words 5 people face execution for taking part in a demonstration. Rightwing MPs who dominate the Iranian parliament have also been busy rushing through a new legislation calling for a faster process for dealing ...

Iran's official Irna news agency says 5 protesters who were detained in late December will stand trial. Thursday's report says the 5 will soon face a revolutionary court, which ordinarily deals with security charges. The report did not elaborate when the trial will begin and what charges the protesters face. Iranian judicial officials last week said some detainees could face the death penalty. At least 8 people died in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters late last month. It was the worst bloodshed since the height of the unrest immediately after the contested June re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Authorities have detained more than 500 opposition figures and activists since then. Source: Associated Press, Jan. 7, 2010

On the morning of Wednesday, January 6th at 4:00am, Fasih Yasamani, a political prisoner, was hanged in Khoy Prison. According to a report from the Committee of Human Rights Activists in Kurdistan, the execution officials unexpectedly and without following the legal procedure executed this Kurdish citizen who was a native of the village of Khoy (located in north-western Iran). He was in prison since 2007. The officials refuse to hand over the body to his family. Mr. Yasamani was accused of belonging to an opposition party (Pajvak, an armed Kurdish group). However, there was no evidence to support the accusations, except for Mr. Yasamanis own confessions which, according to him, was said under torture. Fasih was 28 at the time of his execution. After Ehsan Fatahian [who was executed on Nov 11th], Fasih is the second political prisoner to be executed in the Kurdish region in recent months. At the moment, there are 17 other political prisoners on death row in Kurdistan. ...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's interior minister warned opposition activists on Tuesday they risk execution as enemies of God if they continue anti-government demonstrations, and the foreign ministry said arrested foreigners face punishment. Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar made the latest threat after the Intelligence Ministry said on Monday several foreigners engaged in a "psychological war" against the Islamic Republic were arrested on December 27 in the bloodiest unrest since the aftermath of a disputed June 12 presidential poll. The opposition says the vote was rigged to secure President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. The authorities deny the accusations, which they say were part of a Western-orchestrated plot to overthrow the Islamic system. Eight people were killed in clashes between security forces and supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi on the Shi'ite mourning day of Ashura. More than 40 leading reformists, including four advi...

Iran has condemned 5 men to death for anti-government unrest, including at least 4 who were arrested months before the country's disputed presidential elections, human rights activists say. Hadi Ghaemi, director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, said the 4 were purported members of a small group, the Iran Monarchy Committee, which advocates restoring the system overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The fifth condemned man was said to have ties to the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a Marxist-Islamist militant group that has several thousand adherents in Iraq, he said. Mr. Ghaemi said all 5 were lumped in with the postelection protesters and sentenced to death after show trials. "The government is picking on the least popular anti-government groups and claiming they are the same as the election protesters," Mr. Ghaemi said. He said the government's intent is to show that the opposition is a marginalized minority segment and "put the counterrevo...

Hundreds rallied Saturday afternoon [Oct. 24, 2009] at the State Capitol (picture, left) as part of the 10th annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty. They came certain an innocent man was executed and called for an end to the death penalty. The protesters drew attention to the controversial case of Cameron Todd Willingham. He was tried, convicted and in 2004 executed for setting a fire to his house, killing his 3 young daughters. Despite not having a clear motive, investigators accused him of arson. But a new report, commissioned by the Texas Forensic Science Commission, says the expert evidence was wrong. Elizabeth Gilbert, a playwright and Willingham's former pen pal, is convinced of his innocence and was instrumental in helping his family find a fire investigator to examine his case. She believes an innocent man was put to death. "We executed a person who didn't commit a crime," she said. "I am hoping to bring attention that if 1 person is executed, thats m...

Mullah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi, the Iranian regime's Judiciary Chief, in a statement on Sunday, while showing the regime's fear of the role of "the daily growth of anti-regime satellite channels" in increasing the people's uprising, called for "serious measures to confront this phenomenon" and urged "The honorable provincial judiciary chiefs and judges across the country" to dedicate "a branch of the prosecutor's office" to this work in order to issue "comprehensive and preventative sentences" on this matter and "suitable judicial action is taken, based on articles 498, 499, 500, 504, 508 and the subsection of article 510 of the Islamic penal code, against people who in some manner cooperate with the aforementioned networks or become members of organizational cells which are formed via internet websites." (State-run news agency ISNA, July 5, 2009) The articles mentioned fall within the definition of "act...

According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars, 20 people were hanged in the Rajaee shahr prison of Karaj (west of Tehran) early this morning July 4. The report also said that "all those hanged were convicted of drug trafficking between 2004 and 2008, and were between 35 and 48 years of age". On July 3., Iran Human Rights warned that 29 prisoners were scheduled to be executed in Tehran today July 4. Iran Human Rights is investigating whether among those executed, there were people arrested in connection with the recent pro-democracy demonstrations in Iran. Rajaee shahr prison is commonly not used for executions but under special situations. "34 people have been executed in Iran in the past 4 days, and 26 of the executions have taken place in Tehran. There is no doubt that these executions are meant to spread fear among the people and suppress further the pro-democracy movement in Iran" said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson of Iran Human Rights. He added: ...

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami says those involved in 'destructive acts' during postelection protests are enemies of God and 'should receive the severest of the punishments.' A senior cleric who is close to Iran's supreme leader said in a Friday sermon that anyone who engaged in violence in protests over alleged fraud in the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should receive the "severest of punishments," according to state broadcasting. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a confidant of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, described the unsanctioned public gatherings and rallies as being against Islamic law. In the sermon, he described anyone taking part in "destructive acts" as muharib, enemies of God whose annihilation by true believers is religiously permitted. "Anyone who takes up arms, be it guns or knives, is a muharib and Islam has said that muharib should receive the severest of the punishments," said Khatami, who shares a last name wi...

According to the Iranian daily Kayhan (close to Ali Khamenei, the Iranian authority's supreme leader) the person who took the film showing Neda Agha Soltan being killed by a bullet has been arrested and confessed participation in planning the shooting at Neda. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights , warned that many of those arrested under the pro-democracy demonstrations in Iran could be in danger of torture, forced confessions and possibly execution. He said to the Italian daily Corriere della sera : "we have entered a new phase where the Iranian authorities, by taking forced confessions is preparing further arresting and possibly execution of some of those participated in the demonstrations". He continued: "The Iranian authorities will be at the same time using these constructed TV-confessions to intimidate those who are sending pictures and reports of the demonstrations to the international media". Emphasizing that several hundred d...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A hardline Iranian cleric on Friday called for the execution of "rioters" in the latest sign of the authorities' determination to stamp out opposition to the June 12 presidential election. Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, said it had found no major violations in the election, which it called the "healthiest" vote since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The council had already rejected a call for the annulment of the vote by moderate former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, who has led mass protests since he was declared a distant second in the election behind incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "I want the judiciary to ... punish leading rioters firmly and without showing any mercy to teach everyone a lesson," Ahmad Khatami told worshippers at Tehran University. Iranian state television said on Thursday eight Basij militiamen were killed by "rioters" during the protests. State media previously said 20...

An Iranian provincial prosecutor has warned that the "few elements" behind post-election unrest could face the death penalty under Islamic law, an Iranian news agency reported on Wednesday. Mohammadreza Habibi, prosecutor-general in the central province of Isfahan, said these elements were controlled from outside Iran and urged them to stop "criminal activities," Fars News Agency said. "We warn the few elements controlled by foreigners who try to disrupt domestic security by inciting individuals to destroy and to commit arson that the Islamic penal code for such individuals waging war against God is execution," Habibi said. "So before they are stricken with the law's anger they should return to the nation's embrace and avoid criminal measures and activities," he said. It was not clear if his warning applied to just Isfahan or the country as a whole. Source: Reuters, June 19, 2009

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A press conference will be held at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, June 2, at Houston’s Old Hanging Tree, corner of Bagby and Capitol. At 6:00 pm Texas plans to execute Terry Hankins, marking the 200th time an execution will be carried out under Governor Rick Perry. Protests are being organized around Texas and as well as in several other countries. Since he became governor of Texas in December of 2000, Perry has allowed more executions to proceed than any other governor in U.S. history. The previous record was 152 executions carried out under the rule of former Texas Governor George W. Bush. In Texas demonstrations will be carried out in Austin, Huntsville and Houston. Other demonstrations will be held in Albuquerque; Paris, France; Leipzig, Germany, Brussels, Belgium, and Montreal, Canada. In Houston, activists will gather at “The Old Hanging Tree” located at the former site of a county courthouse. This 400-year-old oak tree was likely the site of lynchings in the 1800’s and is now a recognized ...

The 200th execution under Gov. Perry is now scheduled to take place on June 2, 2009. This appalling milestone will be marked by protests around the state. In Houston, the 200th legal lynching protest will be held at The Old Hanging Tree on the corner of Rusk and Bagby in downtown Houston from 5:00 until 6:30. A press conference will be held at 5:00. Following the press conference, there will be an open mic so all can register their outrage at another day of infamy for the state of Texas in its quest for executions. If your organization would like to co-sponsor this protest in Houston, contact the Abolition Movement. If you are not in Houston, organize a protest in your city. If you are not in the USA, organize a protest at the nearest American Embassy. Call Gov. Rick Perry to voice your opposition at 512-463-2000 or e-mail at www.governor.state.tx.us/contact The event / protest can change dates depending on whether any of the previous executions are stayed. WE HOPE ...

Pour la 7° année l’Acat France et Amnesty International se sont réunis place de la Concorde à Paris avec la présence exceptionnelle de Martina Correia, venue pour nous parler du cas de son frère : Troy Davis , condamné à mort depuis 1991, pour le meurtre d’un policier en 1989. Cela fait donc 17 ans que Troy Davis clame son innocence, il a épuisé tous ses recours après avoir échappé à une exécution prévue le 17 juillet 2007 et un refus d’un nouveau procès par la Cour Suprême de Géorgie , le 17 mars 2008. Seul le Comité des Grâces de Géorgie peut agir en lui accordant une commutation de sa peine. Il faut donc se mobiliser en signant la pétition sur le site : www.amnesty.fr/peine_de_mort Pour plus d’information en anglais : www.troyanthonydavis.org . Vous pouvez aussi lui écrire a demandé sa sœur et il vous répondra. Le thème de cette année portait sur les méthodes d’exécution aux Etats-Unis : la pendaison, le peloton d’exécution, la chambre à gaz, la chaise électrique et l...