Death Penalty News

More than 400 senior clerics in Iran’s holy city of Qom have backed a religious decree labeling threats against Supreme Leader as “moharebeh” or “waging war against God,” a crime in Islamic law that can carry the death penalty. The members of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, many of whom are senior religious scholars in Iran’s influential Shi’ite seminaries, said they were endorsing a fatwa which declared those who threaten religious authority figures – including the Supreme Leader – fall into the category of mohareb and must face the corresponding religious and legal consequences.is

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Kian Sharifi. In this edition, I’m looking at why the Iranian parliament's passage of a bill imposing harsher penalties for espionage has raised concerns. What You Need To Know • Widening Use Of The Death Penalty: Over the weekend, Iran’s parliament passed a bill imposing significantly harsher sentences for espionage and collaboration with hostile foreign governments, particularly targeting activities linked to Israel and the United States. Legal experts and human rights organizations warn that the law’s broad definitions and severe punishments could lead to arbitrary accusations and mass executions, including for activities that previously carried lesser sentences or would not have been considered espionage.