Proposal to Execute “Hudud Punishment in Public” for Street Violence Perpetrators

Iranian officials attribute unemployment and economic crisis to the rise of street conflicts and violence. Some are calling for severe punishment of those responsible for violence. The Ministry of Interior has raised the issue of increased social harms to the National Security Council.

Ruhollah Babaei Saleh, a member of the Social Commission’s steering committee in parliament, says officials must enforce hudud punishment in accordance with Islamic law for those responsible for violence to establish security.

In response to a report released by the Legal Medicine Organization regarding a six percent increase in conflicts during the first seven months of 1397 (2018-2019), he told the parliamentary news agency: “The more unemployment increases in society, the more we will witness growth in social harms and violence in the form of street clashes and even instances of people being set on fire in parks.”

Ruhollah Babaei was referring to a video circulated on social networks that quickly went viral. In the video, several individuals set citizens on fire in one of Tehran’s parks. The head of Tehran’s intelligence police announced on Thursday, December 6, that one of these individuals had been arrested and his record shows he is “a repeat offender in terms of intimidation and harassment, particularly sexual harassment.”

Ruhollah Babaei told the parliamentary news agency that half of social harms are “due to youth unemployment and lack of welfare facilities.”

He warned about the “spread of social harms” in major cities and said: “Neglecting the control of social harms does not only harm one sector or one city, but will involve the entire country in problems resulting from them, and in a society where security does not exist, as long as we witness violent behavior in city parks, the families of officials will also be harmed.”

Babaei Saleh simultaneously called for officials to take a harsh stance against those responsible for violence and said: “If hudud punishment is executed in public for one of the criminals committing violence in society, it will certainly be a deterrent and many of society’s social problems will be resolved, and after this we will not witness such incidents.”

One day before Ruhollah Babaei, the head of Tehran’s intelligence police had claimed that decisive action by the judiciary and police against robbers has led to a reduction in these crimes.

Abbasali Mohammadian had said: “After the death sentence was issued for two robbers and executed in public, we have witnessed a reduction in robbery incidents in Tehran.” He said coordinated actions by the judiciary and police in dealing with armed robbers and thieves have caused armed robbers either to stop stealing or flee Tehran.

The “escape” of these criminals from Tehran, however, has had no effect on social harm statistics in the country. On December 6, the Ministry of Interior announced an increase in social harm statistics in Iran, particularly in the field of theft. According to the Interior Minister, following up on this issue has been brought to the Supreme National Security Council.

Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said that seven sessions have so far been held to review the situation of social harms with the presence of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and Ayatollah Khamenei has personally taken charge of “managing this great task.”

According to the Interior Minister, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic was informed in these meetings “about the priorities set and measures taken regarding the situation of social harms in various sectors.” Abdolreza Rahmani did not elaborate on the details of “the priorities set and measures taken” aimed at reducing social harms.

The Interior Minister simultaneously clarified that the increase in statistics, particularly in the field of theft, is not unrelated to the country’s economic problems.

Iran’s economy has faced a crisis following the United States’ withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, the return of unilateral sanctions, and also due to disruptions and corruption in the country.

The price index of consumer goods and services in urban areas of Iran in November 1397 (2018-2019) increased by 39.7 percent compared to November 1396 (2017-2018). The news agency “ILNA” described this central bank figure as equivalent to “the shrinking of workers’ living basket.”

Unemployment is also one of the greatest challenges facing Iran. According to the Iran Statistics Center, in spring of the current year, more than 25 percent of Iranian youth aged 15 to 29 were unemployed. Many experts assess the actual rate of unemployment in Iran to be far higher than official figures, and attribute one of the reasons for this to the definition of people employed in official institutions.

Source: DW