Five more hanged in Iran, total executions for year climbs to 249

Iran held executions for four men convicted of drug trafficking in the southern Hormozgan Province, and a man convicted of murder in the city of Isfahan, Agence France-Presse reported Sunday.

According to an AFP count, the total executions for 2007 have reached at least 249. Executions in the country have increased dramatically in the past few months as a campaign said to boost security and promote virtue in society is enforced.

Reports did not say if the executions were held in public.

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Iranian official pressed by Afghanistan on death penalty, refugees

Afghanistan said it called Iran’s representative to Kabul on Thursday to discuss refugee repatriation and reports of Afghan minors being sentenced to death for drug smuggling, Agence France-Presse reported today.

In border provinces, it is not unusual for there to be executions of drug smugglers of Afghan origin. An unconfirmed report included a case of a 17-year-old hanged for smuggling 1.5 kilograms, or 3 pounds, of heroin.

“These children are being misused by drug smugglers and their conviction is contrary to human rights, international standards and the very good relations between two countries,” said Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Kabir Farahi.

Farahi also brought up the issue of forced repatriation of Afghan refugees in border areas, especially regarding those with legal documents.

“At this time Afghanistan does not have the ability to absorb refugee groups. We want the Iranian authorities to revise their decision on this issue,” he said.

About 160,000 unregistered refugees and 6,500 registered refugees have been returned by Iran this year.

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Iran says Dutch-Iranian activist has not received death sentence

Maxine Verhagen, the Dutch foreign affairs minister, has received word from Iranian authorities and the ambassador in the Netherlands that no death sentence has been passed for Dutch-Iranian activist Abdullah Al-Mansouri, DutchNews reported Tuesday.

Al-Mansouri has been awarded for his human rights work by Queen Beatrix, and received refugee status in the Netherlands in 1989. He was arrested while visiting Syria last year and then extradited to Iran.

Al-Mansouri’s son, Adnan Al-Mansouri, reported Monday that his father would be executed in 48 hours. In response to the statements made by Iranian authorities, he said: “It’s clear that Iran is afraid of losing face. That’s why they’re now saying this.”

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Three men hanged in public in Iran for kidnap, rape

Iranian media has reported the public hanging of three men on Wednesday for kidnapping and raping two women, Reuters said Wednesday.

The men were executed in the city of Shiraz at the site of the crime.

“These three criminals were charged with kidnapping, disturbing public security, rape and molestation,” said Shiraz Public Prosecutor Jaber Baneshi.

Iran’s high execution rate has drawn harsh criticism of late from rights groups and the EU, but Tehran maintains that it is prosecuting criminals under Islamic law.

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Urgent appeal made to U.N. official regarding execution of Arab-Iranians

The Ahwazi Human Rights Organization (AHRO) has made an appeal to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour regarding six Ahwazi-Arabs facing execution in Iran. The organization is asking Arbour to call upon the Iranian authorities to stop the executions, as well as to urge the country to ensure due legal process in accordance with internationally recognized standards and to uphold its obligations with regard to civil and political rights

According to AHRO, the six men face charges of hoisting the Ahwazi flag, naming their children Sunni names, converting from Shi'ism to Sunnism, preaching Wahabbism and being “Mohareb” or enemies of god, which carries the death sentence. Other charges include “destabilizing the country,” “attempting to overthrow the government,” “possession of improvised explosives,” “sabotage of oil installations” and being a “threat to national security.”

Last year, Emadeldin Baghi, a leading human rights activist in Iran, called the trials of Ahwazi Arabs flawed, with baseless charges, sentencing that was based on spurious interpretation of the law, and a lack of substantial evidence.

A statement made in January by a team of independent experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council urged the Iranian government to “stop the imminent execution of seven men belonging to the Ahwazi Arab minority and grant them a fair and public hearing.” Nevertheless, seven Ahwazi-Arab men were killed between January and February, bringing the number of Ahwazi-Arab political and human rights activists executed in the past 9 months up to at least 13.

Ahwazis face many troubles in Iran, including repression, racial discrimination, land confiscation, forced displacement, and forced assimilation. Moreover, the Ahwazi community suffers from extreme levels of poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy, despite the fact that Khuzestan Province, their traditional homeland, produces 90 percent of Iran’s oil.

The upcoming executions are part of an ongoing crackdown on Ahwazi protestors against ethnic discrimination and persecution, AHRO says.

To access the full letter on AHRO’s site, click here.

Afghan prisoners begin hunger strike to protest executions

Afghan authorities reported on Wednesday that dozens of inmates in Kabul’s Pol-e Charkhi prison went on a hunger strike to protest the 15 executions carried out earlier this week, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Abdul Salam Asmat, the head of Afghanistan’s prisons, said that the prisoners have met with representatives of the International Red Cross to discuss their demands, some of which include receiving a list of inmates who are set to be executed and securing a meeting with members of Parliament.

The prisoners, along with U.N. and Afghan human rights activists, have expressed concern about the judicial processes, and the alleged lack of transparency, that led to the fifteen executions.

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Rights groups in Paris denounce executions in Iran through mock hangings

Rights groups in Paris marked World Day against the Death Penalty on Wednesday by staging a mock hanging to denounce executions in Iran, Agence-France Presse reported Thursday.

According to the article, “The Paris-based League of Human Rights (LDH) and the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) joined in a call Wednesday by 64 rights groups worldwide for a moratorium on the death penalty.”

The groups staged the mock hanging by hoisting an effigy masked in black on a crane above a crowd of a few dozen people, also wearing black. The hanging was set in front of a poster depicting the same technique used in real-life hangings in Iran.

“We decided to focus our protest on Iran, where the number of executions skyrocketed this year,” said organizer Emmanuel Maistre. He also argued that capital punishment had become “a weapon of political and social repression in Iran, where accusations such as adultery lead to hanging, or stoning for women.”

There have been 210 executions in Iran since the beginning of the year.

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Afghanistan ends moratorium on death penalty, executes 15

Afghanistan executed 15 prisoners by firing squad Monday, the first use of the death penalty in three years, Reuters reported the same day.

According to state television, the executed men had been involved in various crimes, including the murder of foreign reporters and U.N. staff, theft and highway robbery.

A U.N. representative said that it would have been better if Afghanistan had maintained its moratorium on using the death penalty.

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