Iran hangs seven drug traffickers, one rapist

[News_Editor]

Iran hangs seven drug traffickers, one rapist

2011-10-03 11:18:52 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) -- Eight people who were previously convicted of serious crimes including rape were hung in northern and southern Iran on Sunday, state-run media reported on Monday.

The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported that an unidentified man was hung in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran Province, after he was previously convicted of raping a woman through deception and intimidation. Other details about the case were not released.

In Shiraz, the country's sixth most populous city and the capital of Fars province, seven men were hung after they were convicted of trafficking drugs. ISNA said the men already had a criminal history before they were arrested.

Murder, rape and drugs trafficking are among the crimes which are punishable by death in Iran. Dozens of people were executed across the country last month alone, including 22 convicted drug traffickers who were all hung on the same day in the Tehran suburb of Karaj.

But the most controversial execution last month took place on September 21 when 17-year-old Alireza Molla Soltani was executed after stabbing a popular athlete to death in mid-July. The teenager argued he stabbed the athlete in self-defense but a court still ordered he be executed in breach of international law which forbids executing anyone below the age of 18.

According to Amnesty International, the Iranian government acknowledged that at least 252 people were executed in Iran last year, although Amnesty's reports indicate the actual figure is more than 550. Among those executed were five women and one adult who committed his crime when he was underage.

The vast majority of those executed in Iran last year was for alleged drug trafficking, a crime authorities claim has led to the deaths of more than 4,000 police officers in recent years.

According to human rights groups, trials in Iran do often not meet international standards of fairness. Proceedings, particularly those held outside Tehran, are often summary, lasting only a few minutes. Mass trials also take place on some occasions.

In October 2010, Amnesty International reported, Iran's Interior Minister stated that the campaign against drug trafficking was being intensified and the Prosecutor General stated in the same month that new measures had been taken to speed up the judicial processing of drug-trafficking cases, including by referring all such cases to his office, thereby denying them a right to appeal to a higher tribunal as is required under international law.

Two months later, the amended Anti-Narcotics Law came into force, apparently making it easier to sentence to death those convicted of drug trafficking, according to Amnesty International. The law also extended the scope of the death penalty to include additional categories of illegal drugs such as crystal meth, possession of which became punishable by death. Under the Anti-Narcotics Law, some defendants are not granted a right to appeal as their convictions and sentences are confirmed by the state Prosecutor-General.

Family members of executed persons also faced persecution in some cases last year and were often not given the bodies of their relatives for burial. Others said that they had to pay officials in order to receive their relatives' bodies as payment for the rope used to hang them.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-10-03

[ParadiseLost]

Here's a thought - rape is one of the most unreported crimes in any country, worldwide. So if they actually caught all the rapists and all the drug traffickers which side do you think will be larger?

My guess is that it will not be 7:1 as today's proud news boasts, perhaps it would be exactly the opposite and people would wake up and stop listening to the bullies.

Just a thought.

[ParadiseLost]

The vast majority of those executed in Iran last year was for alleged drug trafficking, a crime authorities claim has led to the deaths of more than 4,000 police officers in recent years.

That's because half the traffickers were policemen...

[dddave]

So much for the death penalty being a deterrent. These guys just believe they are too smart to be caught. Must be quite a moment of realization when the noose goes on.

I wonder what happens to the many Iranians busted in Thailand for drug smuggling when they are shipped home.

Edited October 3, 2011 by dddave

[dinger]

If you can't do the time then don't do the crime

[Jingthing]

So the USA and Iran have more in common than some thought.

[MAJIC]

Here's a thought - rape is one of the most unreported crimes in any country, worldwide. So if they actually caught all the rapists and all the drug traffickers which side do you think will be larger?

My guess is that it will not be 7:1 as today's proud news boasts, perhaps it would be exactly the opposite and people would wake up and stop listening to the bullies.

Just a thought.

Or pure speculation?

[geriatrickid]

So the USA and Iran have more in common than some thought.

Nope. Often peoplein Iran are accused of rape because it is an expedient way to get rid of someone. Need an example? There is the Christian pator who was charged with apostasy for his decision to accept Christ as his saviour. Although convicted of apostasy, which carries the denath sentence, the Iranians have decided to now charge the Christian with rape so that they can go ahead with the execution without upsetting their supporters in the west. Read it and weep. Yea, weep that Iran gets a free hand by some can do this. No American muslim has ever been persecuted quite like the Christians and Bahia are in Iran. (I'd throw in Jews, but the state sanctioned ghettoization sorted that out and there are not many of them left to persecute.)

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/30/world/meast/iran-christian-pastor/

[koheesti]

I wonder what happens to the many Iranians busted in Thailand for drug smuggling when they are shipped home.

On Koh Samui 2-3 years ago they busted a big drug ring which involved a guy from Iran. I wonder what happened to him? That would suck it both your home country and the country in which you commited the crime have serious penalties. But like dinger said, don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

[JemJem]

I am against death penalty. Therefore, I criticise regimes like Iran's, China's and the US's for this reason at least.

The harshest penalty should be life without parole. But, I am not actually 'liberal' when it comes to punishment. For most murders, I advocate 'life without parole'. You murder someone....you take away the most precious thing relating to that person....and you cause long-term suffering to his/her loved ones....and I think you must spend the rest of your life in jail. The exceptions to this harsh punishment would be in things like killing someone in self-defense, killing someone under extreme stress (eg husband continually beating up his wife and then getting killed by her), if the murderer is under 16 (yes, I think that the age limit in legal punishment should be 16, not 18), causing death in a traffic accident, if the murderer is mentally ill in a major way).

For those who say 'Why should the state/public have to pay for such a large no of people kept in jail for life ?!', I say 'This is a matter of public security and this punishment is a good deterrent. The expense can easily be handled by the state by cutting down even a little on military expenses, which, as we all know, cost a fortune'.

Jem

Edited October 4, 2011 by JemJem

[Jingthing]

In the US, it costs more to execute than incarcerate for life.

In my view, aside from the fact that some innocents are murdered by the state, the main reason the death penalty in the US should be abolished is that it is clear there is a racial/economic bias. Poor/black/hispanic criminals doing the same type crimes get murdered by the state at much higher rates.

As far as the info of Iran making up rape charges, I don't know, but it wouldn't be surprising. It's a horrible regime.

Edited October 4, 2011 by Jingthing

[JemJem]

In the US, it costs more to execute than incarcerate for life.

In my view, aside from the fact that some innocents are murdered by the state, the main reason the death penalty in the US should be abolished is that it is clear there is a racial/economic bias. Poor/black/hispanic criminals doing the same type crimes get murdered by the state at much higher rates.

As far as the info of Iran making up rape charges, I don't know, but it wouldn't be surprising. It's a horrible regime.

Good points ; I agree with everything you wrote above.

Jem

[Ulysses G.]

In my view, aside from the fact that some innocents are murdered by the state, the main reason the death penalty in the US should be abolished is that it is clear there is a racial/economic bias. Poor/black/hispanic criminals doing the same type crimes get murdered by the state at much higher rates.

IMO, that is no reason to let serial killers like Ted Bundy, Charles Manson and others who have commited horrific murders live. It just means that the death penalty should be given out evenly to all such hateful criminals.

[slapout]

I could see the life in prison vs death, if the prisons were set up like Sheriff Joe's and those supporting life incarceration had to serve a specified time as a prison guard dealing with the inmates.

When you hear about some of the hideous crimes committed by some people, just sharing space with them seems an affront to decency/common sense.

[Jingthing]

In my view, aside from the fact that some innocents are murdered by the state, the main reason the death penalty in the US should be abolished is that it is clear there is a racial/economic bias. Poor/black/hispanic criminals doing the same type crimes get murdered by the state at much higher rates.

IMO, that is no reason to let serial killers like Ted Bundy, Charles Manson and others who have commited horrific murders live. It just means that the death penalty should be given out evenly to all such hateful criminals.

Ideally, I agree. In practice, the racial/economic bias is very clear and hopeful thinking and intentions won't fix it.

[Scott]

The topic is beginning to veer away from the OP. Discussion of the death penalty is appropriate, but post specific to countries other than the OP are off-topic.

[iSabai]

Was surprised to see Shamnesty Int'l reporting on a country other than Israel and the US.