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By Fereshteh Ghazi

Source: Rooz Online

October 20, 2010

The fourth session of Saeed Malekpour’s trial is scheduled for 26th October, but his wife says, “Judge Moghise has told Saeed’s defense attorney that his sentence is death.” Saeed Malekpour is a metallurgy engineering graduate from Sharif Industrial University and a resident of Canada who came to Iran about two years ago and was arrested in relation to a case known as the Mozlin 3 case related to Internet “crimes.”

Gerdab website belonging to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) accused Malekpour of being a member in several “corrupt Internet sites” and then labeled him to be anti religious and a threat to the national security because he was the manager of the largest unethical Internet site.

Earlier, Malekpour had described in detail the tortures and the way he had been mistreated while in prison to the judge, adding that he had been forced to make false confessions. His wife Mrs. Eftekhari spoke with Rooz and said that about two weeks ago judge Moghise had told their attorney that her husband’s sentence was death, which shows that the sentencing had already been done without him having a chance to defend himself. Read on for the details of the interview.

Rooz: Please tell us what is the latest news from your husband and how is he doing?

Mrs. Eftekhari: Saeed is in ward 350 of Evin and his family meets with him every week through the glass cabins. I used to have telephone conversations with him lasting about 2 or 3 minutes until about three months ago before he was moved to ward 350, after which the calls ended. Saeed’s morale is good and I commend him for withstanding the pressures of solitary confinement for one year and being in limbo for two years.  His family says that his morale is strong and well.

Rooz: As far as we know, his third trial session was supposed to take place in June or July; can you tell us about developments on that issue?

Mrs. Eftekhari: He has had three court sessions till now. In reality these were not trials and judge Moghise behaved like an interrogator, rather than a fair and an independent judge. The judge seems to completely accept what the intelligence reports have written about Saeed and therefore does not seem to need to investigate the charges against him and has ignored Saeed’s defenses. During the first trial session, Saeed was not allowed to have a defense attorney, and even though they had said that there was not going to be a session, Saeed was taken to a court session. His second trial session lasted on 15 minutes and the third session was not held because the interrogators did not show up. We now await the fourth session scheduled for October 26, 2010. But we have no hope that this will be a fair trial.

Rooz: Why do you not have hope that it will be fair?

Mrs. Eftekhari: You see, the judge officially plays the role of the interrogator and does not pay any attention to any of my husband’s defenses or requests.  Saeed has requested that he be sent to the coroner’s office so that his claims can be examined, but the judge has refused to implement this. Saeed has torture marks till today and when he speaks, he feels sharp pain in his jaw, which is the result of the tortures he has been subjected to. He has also had a mild heart attack while in prison and half his body was temporarily paralyzed. He has explained all the tortures he was subjected to and till today the signs of those tortures are apparent on his body. Saeed has also requested that specialists from the justice department review his dossier, but the judge denies this as well. The judge has no knowledge about Internet or IT issues. In the 15 minutes court session, the judge told him that they had found a weblog in his house. Judge for yourself, what kind of a statement is this? They did not allow Saeed to even look at his own dossier. They also denied him access to a defense attorney. The trial is just a formality, a show and it does not help him in any way. The state of limbo in which we all are is also torturous.

Rooz: Many accusations have been made against Saeed, what is the key charge against him?

Mrs. Eftekhari:  It is an assortment of accusations. If they had simply said that he was the manager of an immoral website, then things would be clear and he would know how to defend himself. But every time they see him, they raise a new charge. At one point the judge told him that he had been in contact with 10 to 12 groups inimical to the regime. And when Saeed asked which groups, the judge replied that you know better. So what is there to defend? It seems that they simply want to find some excuse and pretext to find him guilty. One day they said he had relations with foreigners then on another occasion they said he operated immoral web sites. Kayhan newspaper even wrote that Saeed worked for Canadian military projects, which is just pure fabrication. From a legal perspective how could someone who was not born in Canada, is not a Canadian citizen and was even not born there work on military projects? In fact, Saeed does not truly know what is the charge against him so that he can focus his defense on that.

Rooz: Aside these, what specific charges were read out to him in court?

Mrs. Eftekhari: Propaganda against the regime, operating immoral web sites, insulting divine principles, insulting the president, relations with groups that oppose the regime, being contact with foreigners. In general, these are known as the “corrupt on the earth.”

Rooz: These charges are political whereas the government media say that your husband was operating immoral and porno websites.

Mrs. Eftekhari: This accusation of operating porno sites is a complete lie. Saeed was not operating any web site and had nothing to do with any such sites. Anyone who knows Saeed, from Sharif University to those in Canada will attest that he has nothing to do with such sites. The same charges were also aired against Hossein Derakhshan who is a well known blogger and nobody believed those either. Saeed has no record in writing for web blogs or being a human rights activist. When I was interrogated they kept shouting at me that I was in contact with foreigners! And I told them I lived in a foreign country so what did they mean by that. Then they said that I had been in contact with the US embassy. The fact is neither my husband nor I belonged to any political group and have not engaged in political activities and do not claim to be political. But the charges that they are raising are political and the way they are treating him and his case indicates that the whole issue is a scenario which they are promoting to make political use of his situation.

Rooz: Why did they choose your husband for their scenario? What was his job?

Mrs. Eftekhari: Because we are completely unknown and people who are not popular or know are most vulnerable. What Kayhan wrote about my husband helped me understand how these security agents view things and why my husband was chosen for their dirty goals. I the past, they had focused on this issue of “cultural invasion by the West.” We had lived for years in Canada. Politically we were not even known to anyone. They were looking for a victim for their Internet problems. Saeed was a web designer and worked for the site Freelancer Account. He received requests for websites there, as did others who were also listed on the website. As a freelancer he presented proposals to website development requests and if they were accepted, he would take up the work and receive a fee for it. The intelligence officers in Iran wanted to denounce the Internet and tell people that it was a dangerous thing. This is why they forced Saeed to make false confessions and then showed this on national television. They even tried to say that Saeed used his webcam to video people’s bedroom. This was done to create panic and fear among people about the Internet. They had told Saeed to say that he had purchased software from Britain that could be used to video a room even if the computer was shut. This is not technically possible to do, but these gentlemen wanted to send that message. My husband is merely a victim of the plans of these people.

Rooz: What do you think of the televised confessions?

Mrs. Eftekhari: They have aired his so called confessions several times while he still remains only a suspect. But they treat him as if he is a criminal. His sentence has already been passed in their minds, which is why they allow themselves to air someone’s so called confessions before the person has even had a chance to defend himself and no sentence has been passed on him. These confessions were all made under duress and torture and have no validity. Saeed has said this in court. My question is how come you can air these so called confession on national television, but when it comes to Saeed’s defense you close the court session to the public.

Rooz: You had earlier said that that your husband’s family was under intense pressure from security apparatus. Is this still true? What kind of pressure?

Mrs. Eftekhari:  Yes, both my parents and the family of my husband are under pressure. Threatening telephone calls are made and they formally and explicitly told us that if we gave any interviews, Saeed’s case would become worse. We have no place to express our protests. And so when we talk, they pressure my husband. They air his so called confessions again. They broadcast them again just two weeks ago. After Saeed’s letter was published, they took him back into solitary confinement and told him a lie that his sister had been arrested. When he came out of the solitary confinement he was wrecked. He was willing to accept anything they wanted so long as they released his sister and stopintimidating his family.

Rooz: You have decided to give an interview now; what was holding back before?

Mrs. Eftekhari: They used to promise me regularly in the past that if I did not give any interviews Saeed would be released quickly. And for three months we did not know where Saeed was being kept and they would not tell us. Then on the anniversary of his father’s death, they broadcast his so called confessions on national television, which is when we learned that they had been lying to us. So we decided to talk to the media etc. I will not remain silent now and will do everything I can so that the public knows that none of the accusations against my husband are true and that they are all lies. Perhaps public pressure will result in a fair trial.

Rooz: What is it that you want concerning your husband’s case?

Mrs. Eftekhari: We are not even asking them to just release Saeed. All we want is a fair trial. An open and fair trial where he has the opportunity to defend himself. We are not requesting the trial be aired because he is innocent. We want them to respect the current laws of the country and stay neutral in the case and let those who know these technical issue be the judge.

Rooz: Your last words?

Mrs. Eftekhari: The judge has already sentenced Saeed to death. We are deeply concerned. Do not forget about us. Even the defense attorney is under pressure and has been threatened. Do not forget about my husband and help us. He is really innocent.

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Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur/Monsters & Critics

October 16, 2010

A man has had one of his hands cut off in Iran for repeated robbery, including stealing chocolate from a pastry in the capital Tehran, the Fars news agency reported Saturday.

The 21-year-old was arrested last May and also sentenced to a one- year jail term, Fars quoted a judge as saying.

Islamic laws allow for amputation of hands as one of the punishments for repeated robbery offences.

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Download report (PDF)

Contents

I. Introduction

II. Thematic issues

A. Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including flogging and amputations
B. Death penalty and public executions
C. Executions of juvenile offenders
D. Stoning as a method of execution
E. Women’s rights
F. Rights of minorities, including the Baha’i community
G. Freedom of peaceful assembly and association and freedom of opinion and expression, including following the presidential elections in June 2009
H. Due process rights and impunity, including in relation to the presidential elections in
June 2009

III. Cooperation with international human rights mechanisms and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

A. Universal periodic review
B. Cooperation with the United Nations human rights treaty system
C. Cooperation with the special procedures
D. Cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

IV. Conclusions and recommendations

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By Haidar Mukhtari

October 15, 2010

The Islamic Republic of Iran is still among the top countries that has the largest number of death penalties. The Kurds say that they constitute the “lion’s share” of the executed people.

Sunday, October 10th, was the World Day Against Death Penalty. Amnesty International has said that there are still 137 counties having capital punishment but only 60 of them implement the sentence. According to the Amnesty’s report, Iran comes second after China to implement the greatest number of death penalties.

Everyday at least one person is hung in Iran mainly for the “enmity of God,” and smuggling drugs. But many say that a large number of the suspects, mainly Kurdish ones, are actually hung for political reasons

According to a report by a local rights group, that Rudaw has attained a copy, there were 402 cases of execution in Iran in 2009. The number is higher than each of 2008 and 2007 where there are 350 and 317 cases, respectively. These statistics have all been confirmed by the government.

“The number of hung people is way higher. But since the Iranian government does not officially announce it, we are not able to rely on unofficial sources,” said Mahmoud Amir Muqadam, spokesman for the Human Rights Organization of Iran.

Likewise, Kurdish outlawed opposition parties say that there are a large number of people executed by the Iranian Government secretly.

Aram Mudaris, a member of the Political Bureau of the Kurdistan Tailors’ Movement, known as Komala, says that “Iran would implement more death penalties, if international sanctions are lifted on it.”

Tahir Mahmoudi, Erbil-based spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, says that the reason for increasing executed tolls in Iran is that the Islamic regime has increasingly been losing “trust” and “legitimacy” of the people after the disputed elections of 2009 in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected president.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is an ideological and sectarian regime. It considers anyone opposing the government enemy of God,” said Mahmoudi. “It sees itself as the deputy of God on the Earth.”

According to local and world reports, 6 Kurds have been executed since last year for political reasons. There are 16 others behind bars waiting for the possible implementation of their death sentences.

Muqadam, with the Iranian Rights group, accused the government of being selective in announcing press releases about the people who are executed to death in Iran.

“They [government officials] have said that they would not publish all news,” said Muqadam, adding that the Iranian government executes Kurds secretly to avoid any fuss that may arise in the Kurdish cities after the killings.

“Last year when the Iranian government implemented four death penalties on Kurds, all the Kurds closed their shops in Iran as an objection to the practices. Iran feels that it doesn’t seize complete control over [Iran’s] Kurdistan,” said Muqadam.

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October 15, 2010

DESPERATE mum will launch a High Court battle to keep her family in Southampton.

Iranian Sara Shakeri fled her country with her husband Saba four years ago as political asylum seekers because of their involvement in anti-government activism.

Now the couple and their British born four-year-old son Kouroush face deportation after their appeal was rejected by the UK Border Agency (UKBA).

As reported in the Daily Echo Saba, 30, was arrested and taken to a detention centre in Portsmouth but he was released for just two weeks on bail before he was taken back there.

But determined Sara, 28, has pledged to fight to stay in the country and will now go to London’s High Court to put her case in front of a judge in her last desperate attempt.

Officials said little Kouroush does not automatically have a right to live in the UK.

She said: “I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. I couldn’t bear it if people put their hands on my son and said ‘poor Kouroush’.

“I want to be strong but the reality is I am not going back to Iran.

“If they tell me I have to go back I will kill myself here. I don’t want Iranian people to rape me and kill me in front of my child.”

Sara, who cannot work due to her status but volunteered as an interpreter for a charity offering support to refugees and asylum seekers, set up home in Southampton city centre. Sara said she does not want benefits but wants a visa so she has the right to work. Her son only gets to see his father once a week.

She added: “He used to come home with a smile every day. Now he is scared of everything. Before he used to do nice drawings and colour everything in, now he just scribbles in a mess. This child opened his eyes in this country, he should have human rights.”

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October 15, 2010

According to the latest news from Iran, Reza Shahabi, Treasurer and board member of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, who has been incarcerated since June 12, 2010, was scheduled to be released on bail on October 11, 2010; however, the authorities refused to release him despite the order for his conditional release by a judge.

On October 11, 2010, tens of family members and friends of Reza Shahabi gathered outside the Evin Prison to welcome Shahabi after his family had deposited 60 million Toman (about 57,000 US Dollar) as surety. After staying outside prison until after midnight, in spite of cold weather and rain, prison authorities refused to free Shahabi.

As of today, Friday, October 15, 2010, Reza Shahabi continues to be detained in Evin Prison. According to reports by Mr. Shahabi’s family, the bail amount for Shahabi has been increased to 100,000,000 toman. There are reports that Reza has been under pressures and interrogation to “collaborate” with prison authorities; this is despite the fact that he has already spent more than four months in prison without any justifiable reasons.

There is no justification whatsoever to keep Shahabi in prison. Reza Shahabi is a well-known and highly respected worker and labour leader in Iran and his imprisonment is a gross violation of human rights and international labour standards.

Free Reza Shahabi Now!
Free Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi!
Free all jailed labour activists now!

Send protest messages to:
info@leader.ir, info@judiciary.ir, dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir; iran@un.int; ijpr@iranjudiciary.org, info@dadiran.ir, office@justice.ir, support@irimlsa.ir; ilo@ilo.org; cabinet@ilo.org; eastgulf@amnesty.org
cc: info@workers-iran.org

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By Andy Greenberg

Source: Forbes Blog The Firewall

October 14, 2010

Here’s a lesson for corporations selling high tech surveillance equipment to digitally repressive regimes: The taint of dictatorship isn’t easy to wash off, even after a year of public relations scrubbing.

Access Now, a free speech organization, launched a  ”No To Nokia” petition Wednesday that’s quickly spreading through Facebook and Twitter, criticizing the company’s dealings with the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s regime in Iran and calling on Nokia to “completely end all sales, support, and service of tracking and surveillance technology to governments with a record of human rights abuses.”

That will be a tough demand for Nokia to satisfy: In fact, the company has said it already exited the Iranian business more than a year ago.

In a statement to the European Parliament in June, Nokia Siemens admitted that it had sold “lawful intercept” capabilities to Iranian data providers over several years, equipment that could be used to identify and track political dissidents or other opponents of Iran’s dictatorship. Those statements confirmed reports from the Wall Street Journal a year before that accused Nokia Siemens, a joint venture between the Finnish mobile provider and the German tech conglomerate, of supplying Iran with technology it used to find and imprison political opponents, reports that the company strenuously denied at the time.

The company’s testimony in the European Parliamentary hearing on information technology and human rights abuses sounded much like the confession and policy promises that Access’s petitioners are now looking for:

While we halted all work related to monitoring centers in Iran in 2009, including service and support, we believe that we should have understood the issues in Iran better in advance and addressed them more proactively. There have been credible reports from Iran that telecommunications monitoring has been used as a tool to suppress dissent and freedom of speech. We deplore such use of a technology that can bring so many positive benefits to society – and that, in fact, we believe has brought so many positive benefits to Iran.

But Nokia’s Siemens’ Iran public relations morass has only widened, thanks in part to a lawsuit brought by one Iranian, 56-year-old Isa Saharkhiz, in a Virginia Court. Saharkiz, a journalist and political dissident, was arrested and imprisoned after his Nokia phone was tracked by the company’s Intelligence Solutions law enforcement tracking technology. While Saharkiz has been in prison for the past 14 months, he and his son Mehdi Saharkiz have accused Nokia Siemens in a civil complaint of “aiding and abetting the undemocratic, tyrannical and repressive Iranian government’s humiliation, torture and unconscionable human rights abuses.”

Imprisoned Iranian dissident Isa Saharkiz

You can read the latest version of the complaint here.

Nokia Siemens has responded in court that it’s not liable for how its foreign customers use its technology under the U.S.’s Electronic Communications Privacy Act. But the Electronic Frontier Foundation has called on the company to drop that defense and take legal responsibility for Saharkiz’s sad fate. “The time is now for Nokia to ‘be accountable’ for its role in the repression of Mr. Saharkhiz and likely thousands of others. And it must do so not just in the press room, but in the court case, dropping its cynical claims that corporations should never be held accountable for their role in human rights violations,” the EFF’s Eddan Katz writes in a statement.

I’ve asked Nokia for comment and will update when I hear from the company.

The moral of the story, particularly for companies like IBM that have expressed their eagerness to sell data mining technology to China: Once you’ve put your foot in a human rights quagmire, even defending yourself in court will only sink you deeper.

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October 12, 2010

Statement from the Iran Tribunal Campaign:

Freedom loving Citizens,

For the first time in the contemporary history of Iran, an international campaign has been launched to investigate the mass executions of Iran’s political prisoners, and to hold the Islamic Republic of Iran accountable for its crimes against humanity during the1980s, and in particular, the summer of 1988.

This grassroots campaign has been initiated by the families of the victims, those who managed to survive the atrocities and many conscientious and freedom seeking political and human rights activists, in pursuit of justice.

We are turning to all freedom loving citizens of the world including writers, lawyers, journalists, human right activists, artists, workers, students, etc. to join this movement and to show and express their support toward this campaign.

This campaign was started in the autumn of 2007. Initially, a feasibility study was carried out to determine the most practical and possible methods of achieving its objectives. The advice and recommendations of several international law experts, particularly some of those among “Lawyers without Borders” were sought. Over sixty local and international visits, including hundreds of e-mails and paper correspondence were exchanged between the organisers and renowned international lawyers and human rights institutions.

Now that all of the preliminary and preparatory work has been completed, and the political and international situation has been carefully considered, the campaign is ready to establish the Tribunal.

To this effect, and despite many practical difficulties, due to its worldwide scope, so far, twenty renowned international lawyers and key people from Africa, Europe, USA and Canada have joined this campaign. The formation of the “Legal Steering Committee” as advised by our legal team is imminent and will be addressing the prerequisites of such a tribunal in terms of the Court Proceedings, Jury Panel, Panel of Prosecution and Defence Panel.

Any campaign of this magnitude and gravity requires substantial financial support. The cost implications of this campaign from the start through to its successful outcome are estimated to be around 120,000 Euros.

We appeal to all freedom loving people of the world to pledge and donate their contributions toward this campaign. The successful outcome of this tribunal will mean that one of the most brutal and barbaric regimes in the world will be held accountable for its crimes against humanity. It will also send a clear message to all other despotic states in the world that they are liable to be judged upon and prosecuted by their own oppressed people.

Campaign for an International Tribunal to Investigate the Mass Execution of Political Prisoners in Iran
www.irantribunal.com

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Editor’s Note: Nasrin Sotoudeh entered her 19th day of hunger strike today, October 14, 2010.

Rooz Online: She Uttered a Sentence Before Call Was Cut Off

By Kaveh Ghoreishi, October 11, 2010

In an exclusive interview with Rooz, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband announced that his wife, a lawyer jailed by the Iranian government, has gone on hunger strike. He says, “in a brief, three-second phone call, my wife was only able to say that she has gone on hunger strike since Mehr 3 [September 25]. After the said that, and immediately after she mentioned the word ‘threat,’ the call was suddenly cut off.”

Meanwhile, in separate interviews with Rooz, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s lawyers voiced their concern for her well-being and blasted her treatment as an insult against “lawyers and the legal profession,” while emphasizing the illegal nature of her arrest. Prominent lawyer and a co-founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, Mohammad Ali Seifzadeh told Rooz, “It is the duty of the bar association and every human rights defender to pursue the case of Ms. Sotoudeh and secure her release as soon as possible.”

Fellow lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah also characterized Nasrin Sotoudeh’s arrest as “illegal,” emphasizing, “According to the law, legal malpractice is actionable only through the especial administrative court for lawyers, meaning that a case brought against a lawyer must categorically be initiated by the bar association’s disciplinary committee.”

In recent days, several news sources had pointed to the possibility that Nasrin Sotoudeh is on hunger strike. Speaking to Rooz yesterday, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khandan, confirmed the reports and noted his grave concern for Ms. Sotoudeh’s well-being.

Reza Khandan said, “During my wife’s last call, about twelve days after her arrest, she said that if her calls became more infrequent, it means that she has gone on hunger strike. Because she emphasized that, when we noticed several days ago that she hasn’t called for a relatively long time, we announced her having gone on hunger strike as a possibility.”

Now, several days later and after a brief phone call, Mr. Khandan fully confirmed the news of her wife’s hunger strike: “Today, at about 2 p.m., in a brief, three-second phone call, my wife was only able to say that she has gone on hunger strike since Mehr 3 [September 25]. After the said that, and immediately after she mentioned the word ‘threat,’ the call was suddenly cut off.”

According to Ms. Sotoudeh’s husband: “She uttered this very short sentence with a lot of stress and anger, which showed that heavy confrontations have broken out around her. Ms. Sotoudeh’s tone during the call was also very upset and angry.”

Speaking to Rooz late last night, Reza Khandan added, “I didn’t say anything during that three-second call, waiting for my wife to finish her message. Unfortunately, they didn’t make even that possible for her. After the phone call, our concern with Ms. Sotoudeh’s condition and well-being has multiplied. As she said, today must be the eleventh day into her hunger strike.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, who represents Isa Saharkhiz, Keyvan Samimi, Shirin Ebadi, and several other journalists, civil society and political activists, was arrested on September 4. She also represents the families of Meysam Ebadi and Ahmad Nejati-Kargar, two of the individuals who lost their lives during protests against last year’s election results.

TAKE URGENT ACTION WITH AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FOR NASRIN SOTOUDEH (PDF)

Join the Nasrin Sotoudeh Facebook Page

Write a Letter to Bar Associations and Law Schools Worldwide

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Persian Report by Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran

October 14, 2010

Behrouz Javid Tehrani, the Iranian student activist who was arrested ten years ago and is currently held in Rajai Shahr prison, wrote a statement for the occasion of October 10th, the international day against executions. The text was published by Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran:

By Behrouz Javid Tehrani | Translation Arash Azizi
English by P2E

Today [October 2, 2010] I write in the memory of the 137 cell mates and friends who I have witnessed, in the past ten years of my imprisonment, get executed for common or political crimes.

October 10th, the global day against executions, gave me an excuse to condemn this heinous and inhumane act and let you know some key points about executions.

This primitive crime that occurs in many countries has its roots in the medieval culture. If we look at the process of evolution of divine books we can see that stoning, executions (judicial killing), the amputation of body parts, and lashings took place in a time when people were nomadic and lived in desert-like conditions where they had a primordial existence.

Think about it. When the sons of Israel  did not have houses and lived in tents, what type of treatment is expected for criminals and irregulars? In the time of the Arabs, who had just recently been freed from ignorance, was there any way other than lashing, cutting body parts, execution or stoning to reform and supply the brutal and backward society that mainly consisted of Bedouins? (it should be noted that stoning is not recorded in the Holy Qur’an. Stoning is carried out based on Hadiths that quote Prophet Mohammad).

Now, why are we executing primordial punishments in the post-modern era? Have you ever seen the last steps of a death row prisoner? Have you tried to look into his or her eyes?

Which one do you think is more sad and ugly:

• When a criminal in a moment of madness or anger, with or without planning and with or without intelligence, ends the life of one or few.
• Acts of a group of very intelligent humans and skilled lawyers, from prosecutor to lawyers and judges and juries, who deliberate for months or years to take the life of a person.

When such an expert team allows itself to finish lives, is there room to wonder why humans with less intelligence and without organization and law would also regard killing as their right?

Poor me. I am imprisoned and do not have access to statistical resources, but what I have previously read proves that in countries where there is no capital punishment and no temporal existence the chances of a person’s life being taken away on behalf of God, law or justice, recorded crimes (especially first degree murder) is much lower. These statistics are especially glaring when you compare states in America that have abolished capital punishment and the states who still carry it out in a limited manner.

In this short respite, I have only renounced executions in social crimes, but the condemnation of the execution of political prisoners and activists for any reason is glaringly obvious and I’ll leave it for some other time. Thank you for giving attention to what I write from prison. I wish for a day when execution, stoning, the amputation of body parts and lashings don’t exist and we can live in a world filled with health and peace.

Long live freedom!

Behrouz Javid Tehrani,
October 2, 2010

Rajai Shahr Prison, Karaj
Ward 2, Hall 4

Editor’s Note: With 388 executions carried out in 2009, Iran is ranked second highest in the world (China is number one).