Opposition to Public Execution: Don’t Execute in My City

Iran’s Human Rights Organization warned against the resumption of public executions. The organization’s statement was released following reports of a death sentence for public execution issued for two defendants in Fooladshahr, Isfahan.

According to reports from Iranian media, two defendants accused of premeditated murder named Mohammad. Q., 38 years old, and Sadegh. M., 25 years old, have been sentenced to public execution by a primary court in Fooladshahr, Isfahan for allegedly killing a police officer.

According to Masoud Masoudifar, the court president, the cases of the two defendants were handled “quickly” and the death sentence was issued “in the shortest possible time.”

The “Iran Human Rights Organization” in a statement, referring to these sentences, warned against the resumption of public executions.

The statement reads: “Given that for the past year and a half, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the execution of public execution sentences had been suspended after several decades, the return of this method for carrying out the cruel punishment of execution must face strong opposition from Iranian civil society, human rights activists, and the international community.”

Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, the director of this organization, emphasized that execution is a cruel punishment and public execution “not only lacks a deterrent element, but also fuels the cycle of violence in society and its only purpose is to intimidate people.”

The statement also referred to the “lack of transparency” in the judicial system’s procedures in the Islamic Republic, and in this regard cited “attribution of murder charges to protesters, such as the cases of Navid Afkari and Mostafa Salehi,” which according to the organization, the details of these cases are not available.

The “Iran Human Rights Organization” has also released a tweet with Persian and English hashtags #در_شهر_من_اعدام_نکنید #NoDeathPenaltyInMyTown.

Launching Local Campaigns

This human rights organization recalled that according to documents from the United Nations Human Rights Committee, public execution is contrary to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 7 of this covenant states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The Iran Human Rights Organization referred to a poll commissioned by this organization and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, writing: “More than 86 percent of 20,000 participants residing in Iran said they oppose public execution.”

In its statement, the organization called on Iranian civil society to address local authorities responsible for annulling public execution sentences by launching campaigns, “because the state security council of the provinces, headed by the governor who is considered a government representative, has the power to veto public executions.”

Source: DW