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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Teen hanging sheds light on increasing number of Taliban attacks on children

As reported in Wednesday’s Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline:

TEENAGER'S HANGING HIGHLIGHTS RISING NUMBER OF CHILD KILLINGS IN AFGHANISTANThe United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on October 2 condemned the hanging of a 15-year-old boy by Taliban rebels in the volatile southern Helmand Province two days earlier, criticizing the growing frequency with which children and young people are being "targeted so cynically," the Integrated Regional Information Network reported.

Killing children "goes against all norms in Afghan society, is against international law, and we condemn such actions unreservedly," UNAMA spokesman Aleem Siddique said of the September 30 killing, in which the boy was hung from a tree and his mouth stuffed with dollar bills.

In a separate incident involving children on September 30, a bomb disguised as a toy exploded in Khost Province, killing two children and wounding five others, provincial police spokesman Wazir Pacha said.

Afghan and Western officials have repeatedly accused the Taliban of using children as human shields during clashes with coalition forces, often in an effort to increase civilian casualties and subsequently blame them on Western militaries as part of its propaganda campaign (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 26, 2007).

Schools are also being targeted, making it difficult for girls in particular to have access to education (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 10, 2007). On June 15, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a school in Tarinkot, the capital of Oruzgan Province, as children were leaving, killing 11 and wounding several others. Over 400 schools are still closed in many southern provinces due to insecurity.

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Afghan boy hanged for having U.S. dollars

A 15-year-old boy was hanged from a tree on Sunday in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province for carrying U.S. money in his pocket, The Associated Press reported today.

District Police Chief Wali Mohammad said the brutal act was used as a warning to villagers not to use U.S. currency. Taliban militants placed five $1 bills in the boy’s mouth to serve as a reminder.

According to the article: “Dollars are commonly used in Afghanistan alongside the afghani, the local currency, although the U.S. currency is more commonly seen in larger cities where international organizations are found.”

In a related development, Chief Mohammad also reported that Taliban militants in Helmand shot and killed a man seeking farm assistance and seeds from an international aid program.

Due to the surge in violence, President Hamid Karzai has expressed willingness to meet personally with Taliban leader Mullah Omar and Hezb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

However, representatives from the groups declared that no talks will take place until international troops leave Afghanistan.

“Karzai has, in fact, no authority in the presence of American troops. Talks would be a waste of time in such a situation,” Haroon Zarghun, a purported spokesman for Hezb-i-Islami, told The Associated Press by telephone. “If the United States announces to leave Afghanistan, then we will be ready to hold talks.”