Tag Archives: Amnesty International

Delara Darabi and Soghra Najafpour updates

Nasrin Sotoudeh , the attorney of Soghra Najafpour told Nazanin Afshin-Jam that Soghra is still in hiding in fear of execution. Meanwhile Sotoudeh has not yet received any reply to her request for a re-trial submitted to Iran’s supreme court. 
Nazanin Afshin-Jam also talked to the mother of Delara Darabi. She was told that Delara’s overall prison condition is better than the last one. Her family is allowed to visit her once a week for about 15 to 25 minutes. Delara remains underweight because she does not like the prison food and usually eats biscuits, etc. She is still very depressed but keeps herself occupied with reading. She has not been able to paint o do some of her daily chores beacuse of an injury to her left hand.  Delara has recently become very impatient and wants a resolution to her case.
Delara has asked her parents for some books with paintings of famous painters such as Vincent VanGogh.
Delara Darabi and Soghra Najafpour were friends in prison and the day that Soghra went to say good bye,  she told Delara that she wished that it was Delara who was being freed instead of her . Soghra said that she has spent 18 years of her youth in prison and Delara is much younger and she really does not belong to prison among the some criminals.
There has not been any new changes in Delara Darabi’s legal file and like many other alleged child offenders, she is awaiting a response by the head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrudi.
Meanwhile Amnesty International  Australia, in its Christmas appeal this year, is focusing on the the subject of child execution in Iran.  21,000 of Amnesty Supporters will be receiving a mail pack with a letter about child executions in Iran, and a letter addressed to the Iran’s Head of the Judiciary to sign and send back to Amnesty to be forwarded to Ayatollah Shahrudi.
Delara Darabi will be the main case study and the package also includes a double-sided postcard with two paintings from Delara Darabi which was provided to them this week by Stop Child Executions Campaign.

To read more about Delara Darabi and Soghra Najafpour visit: https://www.stopchildexecutions.com/the_row.aspx

New hopes for Ali Mahin-Torabi


According to an email sent by one of Ali Mahin-Torabi’s family members , Although Ali was scheduled to be hanged along with 11 otherse who were recently executed but he was not taken with them for execution by the Iranian authorities.

Ali is accused of murder of another youth at the age of 16 however Ali has denied the charges.

In the email , one of Ali’s family members stated that the coroner has told Ali’s attorney that he will soon be provided with a document which could prove that the murder was not pre-meditated and possibly someone else was the cause. Ali’s family thanked their family friend Azarin Sadegh for her efforts to help save Ali Mahin-Torabi.



Azarin in response wrote  ” I had goose bumps when I read your email with these great news. I couldn’t believe that it is really happening. But still I felt a kind of mix feeling. I feel a deep sense of relief and happiness because Ali seems to be safe now and I hope that he will see the end of this dark and long tunnel very soon. And at the same time the news about other 11 people executed is difficult to hear. ……On another note, about your exaggeration of what I have done for Ali, I truly think it is overstatement. All I did was doing a little bit of web surfing and writing a bunch of emails and articles. The real job is done by these wonderful organizations: StopChildExecutions and Amnesty International. You shouldn’t stop thanking them!”
 
Azarin recently wrote: “

Since a few weeks I have been trying to help Ali Mahin Torabi. The day I started this effort, I had no hope and Ali’s family was pretty certain that he had no real chance and it was already too late. So everyone was certain that he was going to get executed at the end of Ramadan. Yet, I wrote an article and I sent hundreds of emails. The organization that responded first to my email was StopChildExecutions founded by Nazanin. Not only they sent their lawyer to help with Ali’s case (It is a fact confirmed by Ali’s family), but also they contacted Amnesty International. Later, I found the email address of a spokesman for Amnesty International and contacted him and he told me that they were already aware of his case (guess by who?) and they are working on making the case part of their Urgent Actions calls. Last week European Union and Amnesty International, both released letter and press releases addressed to Iranian government to urge them to save Ali’s life. There is a new petition to sign on Amnesty International site that is their campaign to save him by sending letters to Iranian authorities. …..Ali’s family was interviewed by Reuters and the report of his ordeal has been spread throughout internet. Since that day Ali (who had already accepted to die young) has finally found some light in his heart and his mother feels less desperate. His family doesn’t stop sending me their prayers and their gratitude for all these organizations that worked so hard to make it happen,…”


Also in an email to SCE Azarin Sadegh wrote: “.Wow! It is great news! Thank you David, Thank you Nazanin!…Last night I made a simple Google search on Ali’s name and the number of results found was 18,500! Isn’t it incredible? I remember the first time I did the same search before you have got involved in it, the number was just a two digits number. Thank you so much for your amazing efforts. I am sure Ali has a much better chance of survival now…… I am so impressed by your strength of character in pursuing the case for each of these kids . ….”

Nazanin Afshin-Jam and Stop Child Executions Campaign wish to THANK the following for your efforts to save Ali from the scheduled execution:

Azarin Sadegh, SCE volunteers and supporters, Amnesty International and its supporters, European Union, International Committee Against Executions, Swedish Parliament members, iranian.com and many other bloggers and websites and 100’s of people who responded to ourS and amnesty international’s urgent pleas to write to Iranian authorities.

At the same time we would like to remind everyone that although the scheduled execution was cancelled however Ali Mahin-Torabi still remains at danger of execution until his case is reconsidered .  

Please sign the Amnesty International petition about Ali Mahin-Torabi

URGENT: Kurdish child facing imminent execution in Iran


Amnesty International today warned us of yet another child due to be executed in Iran for alleged rape of a  boy. Both boys were 13 years old at the time. 
                                                                                                                   
26 October 2007
UA 278/07            Death penalty/imminent execution
IRAN Makwan Moloudzadeh (m), aged 21, child offender                 
Child offender Makwan Moloudzadeh, an Iranian Kurd, is believed to be at risk of imminent execution. He has reportedly been convicted of lavat-e iqabi (anal sex) for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old boy. Makwan Moloudzadeh was aged 13 at the time of the alleged offence. His death sentence has been passed to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences and he is due to be executed in public, near his home.

He was reportedly arrested on 1 October 2006 in Paveh, in the western province of Kermanshah . He was detained in Paveh Prison and later transferred to Kermanshah Central Prison. Following interrogations in Paveh during which he was reportedly ill-treated, he was tried by Branch 1 of the Kermanshah Criminal Court and on 7 June 2007 he was sentenced to death. The witnesses and the two people who had pressed charges against him withdrew their claims after the trial. Under Iranian law, children (boys of up to 14.7 years) are to be flogged for lavat (“homosexual acts”).


However, the judge relied on ‘elm-e qazi, the “knowledge of the judge” to determine that penetration had taken place and that Makwan Moloudzadeh could be sentenced to death. Makwan Moloudzadeh lodged an appeal on 5 July, which the Supreme Court rejected on 1 August. Several witnesses have withdrawn their testimonies and signed notarized written statements to that effect.
During his trial, Makwan Moloudzadeh reportedly maintained his innocence. Previously, however, he was reportedly ill-treated during interrogation and “confessed” during interrogation that he had had a sexual relationship with a boy in 1999. He is reported to have gone on hunger strike for 10 days to protest against his ill-treatment in detention. Following his trial and conviction, on or around 7 October 2006 Makwan Moloudzadeh was reportedly paraded through the streets of Paveh riding on a donkey, with his head shaved. People in the street shouted abuse and threw things at him.

Article 1210(1) of Iran ’s Civil Code sets the ages of 15 lunar years as the age of criminal responsibility for boys, and nine lunar years for girls. Makwan Moloudzadeh was reportedly born on 31 March 1986 and, at the age of 13, was a minor under Iranian law at the time of the alleged offence. According to Article 49 of Iran’s Penal Code: “Children, if committing an offence, are exempted from criminal responsibility. Their correction is the responsibility of their guardians or, if the court decides, by a centre for correction of minors.”
Furthermore, in this case the judge used the customary practice of “judge’s knowledge” to override Article 113 of Iran’s Penal Code which states, “If a minor has anal sex with another minor, each will receive up to 74 lashes unless one of them was forced to do so [in which case he will not be punished].”


BACKGROUND INFORMATION

International law strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under the age of 18. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has raised concern about child offenders’ criminal responsibility being determined by judges, using subjective and arbitrary criteria such as the attainment of puberty, the age of discernment or the personality of the child. As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran has undertaken not to execute child offenders. However, since 1990, Iran has executed at least 24 child offenders, with a further two reportedly put to death on 17 October 2007. At least 78 child offenders are on death row in Iran ; at least 15 Afghan child offenders are reportedly under sentence of death. For more information about Amnesty International’s concerns regarding executions of child offenders in Iran, please see: Iran : The last executioner of children (MDE 13/059/2007, June 2007)
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde130592007

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:
– calling on the Head of the Judiciary to urge the Supreme Court to review the case of Makwan Moloudzadeh who was a child at the time of his alleged offence under Iran’s Civil and Penal Codes;
 – expressing concern that Makwan Moloudzadeh may have faced an unfair trial in which a judge relied on subjective and arbitrary criteria in contravention to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and that the appeal appears to have ignored the retraction of testimony made by witnesses;
– expressing concern that Makwan Moloudzadeh is at risk of execution for a crime committed when he was under 18, and calling on the authorities to halt his execution immediately and commute his death sentence;
– reminding the authorities that Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibit the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18, so executing Makwan Moloudzadeh would be a violation of international law;
– urging the authorities to abolish the death penalty for offences committed by anyone under the age of 18, so as to bring Iran’s domestic law into line with its obligations under international law;
– stating that Amnesty International acknowledges the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but opposes the death penalty unconditionally.

APPEALS TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street –

Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran

, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:              info@leader.ir
Salutation:       Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building ,

Panzdah-Khordad Square

,
 Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
 Email:              info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation:       Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami

Baharestan Square, Tehran

, Islamic Republic of Iran
 Email:               hadadadel@majlis.ir
Salutation:       Your Excellency
Director, Kermanshah Central Prison
 Kermanshah Central Prison
Street Number 101, Deisel Abad, Kermanshah, Iran
 Email:              markazi@kermanshaprisons.ir
ahead@kermanshaprisons.ir
 Fax:                 +98 831 826 2049 (difficult to get through, please try three times)
Salutation:       Dear Sir
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 7 December 2007.

Amnesty International issues urgent call to save Soghra Najafpour

Following the comunications with Stop Child Executions Campaign, Amnesty International today issued an interntional urgent action to save Soghra najafpour from execution:

PUBLIC                                                                                                         AI Index:  MDE 13/124/2007                    
                                                                                                                                       23 October 2007
UA 271/07              Death penalty/ Fear of imminent execution                      

IRAN
 Soghra Najafpour (f), aged 30

Soghra Najafpour is currently believed to be in hiding. If she is taken into custody, it is believed she could face imminent execution. She was sentenced to qesas (retribution) 18 years ago for a murder committed when she may have been only 13 years old. Soghra Najafpour was released on bail on 1 October, however, when the family of the victim found out about her release, they reportedly asked for her to be re-arrested and for the execution to take place.
At the age of nine, Soghra Najafpour was sent by her family to work as a servant in a doctor’s home in the northern city of Rasht . Four years later she was accused of the murder of the eight-year-old son of the family. Soghra Najafpour reportedly confessed to the murder during interrogation; soon afterwards, however, she denied that she was involved. Nevertheless she was sentenced to death, as the judge did not believe her to be innocent. At the age of 17, Soghra Najafpour was taken to be executed, but the family of the victim changed their mind at the last minute.

With the help of her new lawyer and human rights defender, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Soghra Najafpour’s case went before the courts again and a new judge authorized her release on bail. However, her bail stipulated that she would have to return to prison on order of the Judiciary. Soghra Najafpour was reportedly summoned to return to prison on 22 October 2007, following the complaint made by the family of the victim, but it appears that she has gone into hiding. According to reports, the father of the victim had recently agreed to pardon Soghra, however, his wife insisted that she be executed. Failing to reach an agreement between all the blood relatives of the victim, in this case the parents, Soghra Najafpour is at risk of imminent execution should she be detained by the authorities.

On 23 October, Nasrin Sotoudeh submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court calling for a review of the case of Soghra Najafpour, but it is not known whether it will be considered acceptable for submission.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

International law strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18. As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the CRC, Iran has undertaken not to execute child offenders. However, since 1990, Iran has executed at least 24 child offenders. There are fears that at least two other executions may have taken place on 17 October 200. At least 77 child offenders are currently on death row in Iran. This number may be even higher as according to yet unconfirmed reports at least a further 15 Afghan child offenders may be under death sentence.
For more information about Amnesty International’s concerns regarding executions of child offenders in Iran, please see: Iran: The last executioner of children (MDE 13/059/2007, June 2007)
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde130592007

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:
– calling on the Head of the Judiciary to urge the Supreme Court to review the procedures in the case of Soghra Najafpour, including the manner of the interrogation, which led to her initial conviction;
– expressing concern that, if she were to be taken into custody, Soghra Najafpour would be at risk of execution for a crime committed when she was under 18;
– calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt any efforts to proceed with the execution of Soghra Najafpour;
– calling for the death sentence against Soghra Najafpour to be commuted;
– reminding the authorities that Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibit the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18, and that the execution of Soghra Najafpour would therefore be a violation of international law;
– urging the authorities to pass legislation to abolish the death penalty for offences committed by anyone under the age of 18, so as to bring Iran’s domestic law into line with its obligations under international law;
– stating that Amnesty International acknowledges the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but unconditionally opposes the death penalty.

APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:              info@leader.ir
Salutation:       Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building, Panzdah-Khordad Square,
 Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:              info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation:       Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
 Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Baharestan Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:               hadadadel@majlis.ir
Salutation:       Your Excellency
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 4 December 2007

Sign Amnesty International Petition to save Ali Mahin-Torabi from execution

Amnesty International UK has made a petition letter addressed to spiritual leader of Islamic regime in Iran to to help save Ali Mahin-Torabi from execution.

Please sign the pettition at the bottom of the page : 

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=335

(We have sent photo of Ali to Amnesty (UK) to add to the page)

URGENT ACTION Call by Amnesty International for Ali Mahin-Torabi


Stop Child Executions Campaign has been working closely with Amnesty International in the past few weeks providing the information that was given to us by his attorney, Mohammad Mostafaei about Ali Mahin-Torabi, who is facing execution in Iran. As a result Amnesty International yesterday issued a worldwide URGENT ACTION report:

PUBLIC                                    

AI Index:  MDE 13/116/2007        UA 263/07              

Death penalty/ Fear of imminent execution    
16 October 2007

IRAN                      

Ali Mahin Torabi (m) aged 21           

Ali Mahin Torabi has been convicted of a murder committed when he was 16 years old. He is now at risk of imminent execution, even though Iran is a state party to international treaties including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which expressly prohibit the execution of child offenders. Ali Mahin Torabi is held in Reja’i Shahr prison in Karaj, near Tehran. His death sentence could be carried out at any time.

On 3 February 2003, Ali Mahin Torabi was detained in connection with a playground fight at the Bani Hashemi High School. He reportedly fatally stabbed a schoolmate named Mazdak Khodadian, who died from loss of blood. The then 16 year-old Ali Mahin Torabi has repeatedly stated that he only realized that his schoolmate had been stabbed after he heard shouting from the crowds that had gathered during the schoolyard disturbance and that his blow was not intentional.

The lawyer for Ali Mahin Torabi has repeatedly drawn attention to the lack of clarity and doubts surrounding the events leading to the death of Mazdak Khodadian, noting for example that the coroner reported that the blow did not enter the victim in a direct manner; that it was not consistent with an intentional blow.

Branch 33 of the Public Court for the Investigation of Juvenile Crimes Offences in Karaj sentenced Ali Mahin Torabi to qesas (retribution) on 8 February 2003. On 8 June 2004 there were reports that Branch 27 of the Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence. However, new information later stated that the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi had ordered that the case be resolved through arbitration.  Furthermore, under Article 206 (b) of Iran’s Criminal Code, murder is classed as premeditated “in cases where the murderer intentionally makes an action which is inherently lethal, even if [the murderer] does not intend to kill the person.”

According to reports, Mazdak Khodadadian’s mother demanded payment of diyeh (blood money) in order to pardon Ali Mahin Torabi. However her husband is refusing this and is demanding that the execution be carried out. Failing to reach an agreement between all the blood relatives of the victim, in this case the parents, Ali Mahin Torabi remains at risk of execution.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

International law strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18. As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the CRC, Iran has undertaken not to execute child offenders. However, since 1990, Iran has executed at least 24 child offenders. At least 75 child offenders are currently on death row in Iran. This number may be even higher as according to yet unconfirmed reports at least a further 15 Afghan child offenders may be under death sentence.

For more information about Amnesty International’s concerns regarding executions of child offenders in Iran, please see Iran: The last executioner of children (MDE 13/059/2007, June 2007) http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde130592007

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Using your own words, please choose a few of the suggestions below to create a personal appeal  in Persian, Arabic or English:

– expressing concern that Ali Mahin Torabi is at risk of execution for a crime committed when he was under 18;
– calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt the execution of Ali Mahin Torabi;
– calling for the death sentence against Ali Mahin Torabi to be commuted;
– reminding the authorities that Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibit the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18, and that the execution of Ali Mahin Torabi would therefore be a violation of international law;
– urging the authorities to pass legislation to abolish the death penalty for offences committed by anyone under the age of 18, so as to bring Iran’s domestic law into line with its obligations under international law;
– stating that Amnesty International acknowledges the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but unconditionally opposes the death penalty.

APPEALS TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic:
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:             info@leader.ir
Salutation:      Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary:
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building
Panzdah-Khordad Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:  <mailto:info@dadgostary-tehran.ir> info@dadgostary-tehran.ir
(In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation:       Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

Mr Seyed Mahdi Mohebi
Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy for the Islamic Republic of Iran
245 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2K2
Fax: (613) 232-5712

Speaker of Parliament:
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Baharestan Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:             hadadadel@majlis.ir
Salutation:      Your Excellency

Please respond with immediate messages to protect Ali Mahin Torabi’s life.

انزجارعفوبین‌الملل از رقم فزاینده اعدامها در ایران


عفو بین‌الملل
اعلامیه عمومی
شماره MDE 13/110/2007   
5 سپتامبر 2007

عفو بین‌الملل از خبر اعدام 21 نفر در صبحگاه امروز، که رقم مجموع اعدام‌هایی را که این سازمان از آغاز سال 2007 ثبت کرده به 210 می‌رساند، ابراز انزجار می‌کند.

این رقم بیش از 177 اعدام ثبت شده در سال 2006 است، گرچه رقم واقعی برای هر دو سال احتمالا بیشتر است. دست کم دو فرد به خاطر ارتکاب جرم در کودکی در میان افرادی هستند که تاکنون در سال 2007 اعدام شده‌اند.

 عفو بین‌الملل دهها مورد دادرسی‌های ناعادلانه را ثبت کرده و این سازمان نگران آن است که بسیاری از کسانی که امروز اعدام شدند، با دادرسی ناعادلانه روبرو بوده‌اند، و هیچ تضمینی برای تامین دادرسی عادلانه بدون استثنا و تبعیض در مورد مجازات‌های اعدامی که اجرا شده وجود نداشته است.

‌
در قوانین ایران، متهم هیچ حقی برای داشتن وکیل پیش از تفهیم اتهام ندارد. نماینده سازمان ملل متحد در امر اعدامهای صحرایی، خودسرانه و بدون محاکمه بیان داشته است که همه متهمینی که با مجازات اعدام روبرو می‌شوند بایستی در هر مرحله از روند قانونی از خدمات وکیل دارای صلاحیت برخوردار شوند.

حوزه جرم‌هایی که مجازات اعدام را در پی دارد در ایران به طرزی غیرعادی گسترده است و شامل اتهاماتی است که با واژه‌های گنگی  همچون “محارب با خدا” و “مفسد فی‌الارض” بیان می‌گردد که از جمله شامل کسانی می‌شود که متهم به استفاده از اسلحه علیه دولت هستند، سرقت انجام می‌دهند، و کسانی که علیه دولت جاسوسی می‌کنند. این جرم‌ها، از جمله زنا، و عمل جنسی هم‌جنس‌گرایی، به عنوان جرم علیه خدا محسوب شده و شامل بخشایش نمی‌شود. قانون در مواردی تعیین مجازات را به عهده قاضی می‌گذارد که جرم مربوط به اقدام علیه امنیت ملی باشد.

ماده 6(2) میثاق بین‌المللی حقوق مدنی و سیاسی، که ایران بدان متعهد است، بیان‌ می‌دارد که ” در کشورهائی که مجازات اعدام لغو نشده است، حکم مرگ فقط باید برای مهمترین جنایت‌ها… باشد.” کمیته حقوق بشر سازمان ملل متحد، نهاد مستقلی که اجرای این تعهدنامه توسط دولت‌ها را بررسی می‌کند، بیان داشته است “این کمیته بر این نظر است که عبارت «مهمترین جنایت‌ها» باید بدین منظور برداشت شود که مجازات اعدام باید کاملا یک اقدام استثنایی باشد.”  افزون بر آن، ماده احتیاطی 1 از «احتیاط‌های تضمین حفظ حقوق کسانی که محکوم به اعدام هستند» که توسط شورای اجتماعی و اقتصادی سازمان ملل متحد در سال 1984 تصویب شده است، بیان می‌دارد که “درکشورهایی که مجازات اعدام لغو نشده است، حکم اعدام تنها در مورد جدی‌ترین جنایت‌ها می‌تواند اعمال شود، و منظور اینست که حوزه این جرم‌ها نباید فراتر از جنایت‌های از روی قصد، با نتایج مرگبار یا فوق‌العاده شدید باشد.”

دست کم 4 مورد از اعدام‌های امروز، در شیراز، در ملاء عام اجرا شده، و این درحالیست که کمیته حقوق بشر سازمان ملل متحد بیان می‌دارد که “اعدام در ملاء عام … با کرامت انسانی همخوانی ندارد.” دست کم دو مورد از افراد اعدام شده در شیراز به نظر می‌رسد که از اقلیت بلوچ بوده‌اند. عفو بین‌الملل نگران این امر است که اعضای اقلیت بلوچ بخش قابل توجهی از اعدام شدگان در ایران را تشکیل می‌دهند.

عفو بین‌الملل همچنان از مقامات ایرانی می‌خواهد که اعدام افراد به خاطر جرم‌های کودکی را متوقف سازند، و به عنوان اولین گام در راه لغو اعدام، همه احتیاط‌های لازم برای موارد اعدام را بکار برند تا حوزه جرم‌هایی که مجازات اعدام را در پی دارد محدود شود. این سازمان خواهان توقف فوری اجرای همه احکام اعدام در ایران است. شصت و دومین نشست عمومی سازمان ملل متحد در اکتبر 2007 در مورد قطعنامه فراخوان توقف حکم اعدام در جهان رای خواهد داد، که اولین گام در راه لغو حکم اعدام خواهد بود. عفو بین‌الملل از ایران می‌خواهد که ادامه استفاده از شدیدترین مجازات را، که نقض آشکار حقوق بشر است، متوقف سازد و از این قطعنامه حمایت کند.

این سازمان همچنین از همه مردم ایران می‌خواهد که از کارزاری با عنوان “مجازات اعدام را متوقف کنید: جهان تصمیم می‌گیرد” که توسط  «ائتلاف جهانی برعلیه مجازات اعدام» و دیگر سازمانهای غیردولتی آغاز شده با امضای درخواست آنلاین در محل زیر حمایت کنند.
http://www.worldcoalition.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=10&sel_lang=english

Iran: Amnesty International appalled at the spiralling numbers of executions

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index:        MDE 13/110/2007    (Public)
News Service No:         171                        
5 September 2007

  Iran : Amnesty International appalled at the spiralling numbers of executions

Amnesty International is appalled at the reports of the execution of 21 people in Iran this morning, bringing the total number of executions recorded by the organization since the start of 2007 to 210.

This figure exceeds the 177 executions recorded in 2006, although the true figure for both years is likely to be higher. At least two child offenders were among those executed to date in 2007.

Amnesty International has catalogued scores of unfair trials in recent years and the organisation is concerned that many of those executed today faced unfair trials, and a failure to ensure that fair trial safeguards in death penalty cases are implemented in all cases without exemption or discrimination.

Under Iranian law, the accused has no right to legal representation prior to being formally charged. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has stated that all defendants facing the imposition of capital punishment must benefit from the services of a competent defence counsel at every stage of the proceedings

The scope of capital crimes in Iran remains extraordinarily large and includes vaguely worded charges, such as “enmity against God” (moharebeh ba Khoda) “being corrupt on earth” (mofsed fil arz), which refer, inter alia, to those accused of using firearms against the state; carrying out acts of robbery and to those who are considered to be carrying out espionage against the government. These crimes, including those of are adultery by married people, and same-sex sexual conduct, regarded as a crime against God and as such are not subject to pardon. Discretionary laws over which judges have the power to impose the death penalty include those relating to national security offences.

Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party states: “In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes…” The UN Human Rights Committee, the independent body that reviews states’ implementation of this treaty has stated: “The Committee is of the opinion that the expression ‘most serious crimes’ must be read restrictively to mean that the death penalty should be a quite exceptional measure.” Furthermore, Safeguard 1 of the Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty, adopted by the UN Economic and Social Council in 1984, states: “In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, capital punishment may be imposed only for the most serious crimes, it being understood that their scope should not go beyond intentional crimes, with lethal or other extremely grave consequences.”

At least four of the executions today, in Shiraz , were carried out in public, although the UN Human Rights Committee has stated: “Public executions are… incompatible with human dignity.” At least two of those executed in Shiraz appeared to have belonged to Iran ‘s Baluchi minority. Amnesty International is concerned that members of Iran’s Baluchi minority have formed a significant proportion of those executed in Iran .

Amnesty International continues to urge the Iranian authorities to stop executing child offenders; to implement all required safeguards in capital cases and to limit the scope of crimes punishable by death, as a first step towards its total abolition. The organisation is calling for an immediate moratorium on executions in Iran . The UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) 62nd session in October 2007 will vote on a resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions, to be introduced as a step towards the abolition of the death penalty. Amnesty International calls on Iran to halt the continuing use of this most extreme penalty, which is a gross violation of human rights and to back this resolution.

The organisation also calls on the people of Iran to support the campaign entitled “Stop the Death Penalty: The World Decides,” initiated by World Coalition against the Death Penalty (WCADP) and other non-governmental organizations by signing an online petition found at: http://www.worldcoalition.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=10&sel_lang=english

Execution of Yemeni boy postponed

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL                                                
AI Index: MDE 31/013/2007  
UPDATE
10 August 2007                        

Further Information on UA 79/05 (MDE 31/003/2005, 5 April 2005) and follow-ups (MDE 31/004/2005, 6 April 2005; MDE 31/008/2007, 1 August 2007; MDE 31/010/2007, 08 August 2007) – Fear of imminent execution

YEMEN                   

Hafez Ibrahim (m), age unclear

Relatives of the victim of the murder for which Hafez Ibrahim has been sentenced to death have agreed to a stay of execution until after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends in mid-October. According to the Shariah law rule of qisas (retribution), family members of a murder victim are entitled to seek the execution of the person responsible. Alternatively, they may pardon them, freely or in exchange for diya (compensation). The victim’s family have previously refused to pardon Hafez Ibrahim, and he therefore remains in grave danger of execution.

President ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh has reportedly appointed a committee to clarify Hafez Ibrahim’s age at the time that the crime of which he has been convicted was committed. Under Article 31 of the Yemeni penal code, if the age of the defendant is not certain, then the trial judge must determine it with the assistance of an expert.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: If possible, please send another message within the month. Alternatively, consider asking someone in your community to respond to this appeal as well as, or instead of, writing again yourself.

– Welcome the stay of execution granted to Hafez Ibrahim and the appointment of a committee to clarify Hafez Ibrahim’s age, and urge the President to commute his death sentence;

– Urge the President to commute all outstanding death sentences and establish a moratorium on executions, with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty, as called for by Paragraph 5(b) of resolution 2001/68 of the Commission on Human Rights.

APPEALS TO:

His Excellency General ´Ali ´Abdullah Saleh
President of the Republic of Yemen
Sana’a
Republic of Yemen
Fax:                  011 967 127 4147
Salutation:         Your Excellency

COPIES TO two or more of the following:

His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Abdulwali NASHER
Ambassador for Yemen
54 Chamberlain Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 1V9
Fax: (613) 729-8915
E-mail: info@yemenincanada.ca <mailto:info@yemenincanada.ca> 

His Excellency ‘Abdullah al-Ulufi
Office of Attorney General
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
Fax:                  011 967 137 4412
Salutation:         Your Excellency  

His Excellency Dr Rashid Muhammad al-‘Alimi
Ministry of Interior
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
Fax:      011 967 1 332 511
Salutation:         Your Excellency

Her Excellency Houda ‘Ali ‘Abdullatif al-Baan
Ministry for Human Rights
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
Faxes:              011 967 1 444 838
Salutation:         Your Excellency
 
Thank you for your continued focus on Hafez Ibrahim.