Public execution, stoning and amputation continue in Iran

Public hangings are a “strangely everyday scene” in Iran, BBC News reported Monday.

The number of executions has increased dramatically under the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; Amnesty International says that the figures are up from 200 executions in 2006 to about 300 last year, with more than 30 taking place in January of 2008.

“In Islam, punishment is very harsh,” says Ayatollah Mahdi Hadavi, a professor of Islamic law based in the holy city of Qom. “Because the philosophy of punishment is to prevent the people from committing a crime.”

According to the article, Iran’s chief judge has ordered that no public executions should be held without his personal authorization. However, a similar edict ending the punishment of stoning has not been obeyed. Iran has also been accused of reviving the practice of amputation.

Iranian Nobel peace prize winner and human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi says that she believes there is a political dimension to the growing number of executions. “I see this as a way of putting fear into society," she said. “They want to use this to frighten people, to make people afraid of voicing criticism.”

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