(25 October 2010)  Iran’s Judiciary should immediately institute a moratorium on all executions at Vakilabad Prison in Mashad and provide a transparent response to allegations of excessive numbers of executions at the facility, said the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today.

The Campaign continues to receive credible reports from former Vakilabad prisoners about repeated, unannounced group executions of inmates. Reliable sources indicate that numerous executions have taken place inside Vakilabad over the last year and more than 600 inmates remain on death row.

Authorities reportedly executed ten inmates in Vakilabad as recently as Tuesday, 12 October. The numbers of executions publicly announced by the authorities are considerably lower than the actual numbers. Amnesty International reports that at least 388 executions took place in Iran in 2009.

“These reports of Mashad executions indicate that Iran is executing even more people–dramatically more– than now estimated,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

“Especially given the Iranian government’s lack of transparency concerning executions, the Judiciary needs to provide a full account of what is happening inside Vakilabad’s death row,” he added.

Authorities do not release statistics on the implementation of death sentences, the names of the hundreds of convicts executed each year, or the crimes for which they were found guilty. Several former Vakilabad inmates reported that officials tried to limit information about group executions from leaving the prison.

“Families, lawyers, and prisoners themselves not only do not receive any written ruling pertaining to the execution, they have no idea when the executions will be carried out, let alone [having the family] present during the executions,” one former Vakilabad prisoner told the Campaign about executions at the facility. “The bodies are delivered the next day, after the families have paid the cost of the rope [used in the hanging],” he added.

“When [officials] want to perform the executions, prison telephones are cut off at around 4:00 p.m. so that no one can report the news to the outside world. The yards are evacuated, and [almost] all prisoners are moved inside the ward,” the former prisoner. “At this time everyone knows that it’s time for the executions. No one knows whose turn it is until the names are read on a loud speaker by [prison and judiciary officials] and [officials] and guards remove the prisoners from the ward.”

“We are concerned that if these executions are in fact taking place in Mashad, then are other prisons executing in secret also?” asked Rhodes.

The Campaign’s sources reported that within the prison there are “cell representatives,” prisoners themselves, permitted by officials to attend these pre-execution procedures.  “That’s how after the executions are carried out, names and numbers of prisoners are revealed and most prisoners find out about them.”

One former prisoner described a group execution in late October 2009. “I was in Ward 6-1, so I could see the number of people executed (46) with my own two eyes.  I saw their ritual religious cleansing, and them writing their wills.  After these procedures, they were transferred to the location where they were executed.”

According to multiple accounts, the majority of inmates on Vakilabad’s death row were convicted for narcotics-related crimes. Some reported that they were tortured and forced to make confessions, but that trial judges ignored their claims of physical coercion.

Ahmad Ghabel, a religious scholar and critic of the government, was detained at Vakilabad prison. “The statistics I kept with myself during those three months was more than fifty people [were executed],” Ghabel told the Campaign. “When I say more than fifty, it is because I do not wish to misstate the number by even one person. If I take note of what other prisoners reported as well, adding them, perhaps the numbers would be more than this.”

“It seems to me that in order to avoid a huge international uproar about the issue, [Vakilabad prison officials] do this in silence and don’t make any announcements about the executions,” Ghabel added.

After his release in June, Ghabel spoke publicly about these secret executions. On 8 September 2010, Ghabel was summoned to the Revolutionary Courts of Fariman and detained. Ghabel’s wife told the Campaign that they believe authorities detained him in response to his statements regarding executions in Vakilabad prison.

In February 2010, during Iran’s Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council, several UN member states, including Brazil, Germany and Slovakia, advocated Iran impose a general moratorium on the death penalty. In December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 64/176 expressed concern about “the continuing high incidence and increase in the rate of executions carried out in the absence of internationally recognized safeguards” and called upon Iran to abolish public executions, juvenile execution, and executions by stoning.

Iran executes the second highest number of individuals annually of any nation, after China, and has the highest per capita rate of executions. The numbers of executions has risen dramatically under Ahmadinejad’s administration. In 2005, when he took office, Iran executed 86 prisoners and this number rose to at least 388 in 2009.

(20 May 2009) – The decision to present the prestigious Martin Ennals Award this year to Emad Baghi for his work on prisoners’ rights and efforts to end the death penalty will help focus international attention on the perilous human rights situation in Iran, Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“The award to Emad Baghi for his courageous efforts helps to keep the eyes of the world on the difficult human rights situation in Iran,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Baghi has also been a leading advocate against capital punishment in the face of rising numbers of executions in Iran.”

The Martin Ennals Award, named for the pioneering human rights activist and first secretary-general of Amnesty International, is “granted annually to someone who has demonstrated an exceptional record of combating human rights violations by courageous and innovative means.” The recipients are chosen by a jury consisting of representatives of major international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), Frontline, International Commission of Jurists, International Service for Human Rights, Human Rights First, Human Rights Information and Documentation Center (HURIDOCS), and Diakonia.

Baghi is the founder of the Society for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights. Over the past decade, he has published numerous articles and books against the widespread application of the death penalty in Iran. After China, Iran executes more people than any other country in the world.

Baghi’s book Right to Life, a comprehensive exposition of his legal research, argues for the suspension and abolition of the death penalty in Iran and other Muslim-majority countries, and demonstrates that neither Quranic texts nor Islamic jurisprudence pose obstacles toward this goal. Iranian authorities banned Right to Life and have imprisoned Baghi several times and interrogated him after he wrote article about the same subjects.  Right to Life has been translated into Arabic and widely circulated in other Middle Eastern countries.

Baghi’s research and documentation of cases of juvenile offenders on death row has been an important contribution to focusing attention on the plight of juvenile offenders facing execution in Iran. Since 2005, only five countries – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen – are known to have executed juvenile offenders. Iran is the only country known to have executed juvenile offenders since 2008. At least 140 juveniles are on death row, according to Baghi’s research and Amnesty International. In a second volume of his book, Right to Life II, also banned from publication in Iran, Baghi invokes Islamic laws and traditions to advocate abolishing the death penalty for juvenile offenders.

There is currently a robust campaign inside Iran for abolition of the juvenile death penalty. The Defenders of Human Rights Center, co-founded by Shirin Ebadi and her colleagues, in April 2009 issued a national call to action, “Stop Child Executions,” demanding an end to executions of juvenile offenders. Prominent religious scholars and national personalities, including the presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi, have endorsed the campaign.

“This award is a tribute to Baghi and all human rights defenders in Iran who have tirelessly and against all odds continued their work,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “The Iranian government should end its persecution and prosecution of Emad Baghi and take immediate steps to improve the country’s human rights record, in particular by abolishing the juvenile death penalty.”

Right to Life in Arabic and Persian

Click here to download “Right to Life” in Persian

Click here to download “Right to Life 2″ in Persian

(1 December 2008) An Arabic translation of “Right to Life”, a book by Iranian human rights defender Emad Baghi, has been published by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The book presents groundbreaking research in Islamic jurisprudence and Sharia supporting the suspension and abolition of capital punishment in countries following Islamic law.

“Right to Life” has been banned by Iranian authorities and Baghi has been imprisoned and interrogated several times for articles he wrote making the arguments collected in this book.

The book is a comprehensive exposition of Baghi’s research arguing for abolition and suspension of the death penalty in Iran and other Islamic countries. As he wrote in a letter to the head of the Iranian Judiciary in April 2006, “Crime, felony, and executions are the results of and contributors to a culture of violence.” He has been tirelessly promoting abolition of the death penalty in Iran, and demonstrating that neither Qur’anic verses nor Islamic jurisprudence pose obstacles toward this goal.

“Right to Life” is an important and timely contribution to religious, political and civil society discussions in Iran and other countries that implement capital punishment under their interpretation of Islamic Sharia. As the worldwide movement towards abolition of the death penalty has gained unprecedented momentum in recent years, Islamic countries constitute one of the main blocks opposing this trend in the international arena. What is more, the practice of capital punishment isolates Islamic countries from the international community.

Baghi’s book provides persuasive arguments within the Islamic discourse for suspension and abolition of death penalty sentences in countries whose laws are based on an interpretation of Sharia. It is often argued that such laws are irrevocable, but Baghi’s research demonstrates that there is no such absolute requirement for the death penalty within Sharia or the Qur’anic verses.

The book is organized into three chapters: on executions in Sharia; on stoning; and on the abolition of the death penalty and alternative sentences. The first chapter argues that all death penalty punishments are legislated and implemented by governments and are not derived from Qur’anic verses. According to Baghi’s research, in cases of murder with the punishment of Qisas, or retribution, death sentences are not necessarily required by Qur’anic verses.

Baghi demonstrates that Qur’anic verses for retribution provide for pardons as well as blood money alternatives and do not impart an absolute requirement for carrying out executions. His research shows that when retribution is chosen, the decision of the next of kin is the necessary but not sufficient condition. He makes the important contribution that Islamic traditions could allow for inclusion of expert opinions—such as psychologists, sociologists, and criminologists—in addition to a public jury to determine the final sentencing. Therefore, a judge and the next of kin of the victim are not necessarily the only persons who may be responsible for making the final decision in cases of retribution relating to murder.

Baghi’s discussion of stoning in cases of adultery and its legal roots provides the powerful argument that such sentencing has no grounds in Qur’anic verses and indeed the death penalty is not prescribed by the Qur’an as its proponents advocate. “The stoning verdict in traditional Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) is a legal command but it has no basis in the Qur’an,” he concludes.

Baghi’s conclusions are captured in his words of April 2006 to the head of Iranian Judiciary, Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrudi: “The killing of a human being is both the source and propagator of violence and has no relationship to kindheartedness, a caring society, and the benevolence of the Creator. It is hence necessary to stop the spread of crime, felony as well as executions as soon as possible.”

The book’s second volume, “Right to Life II,” arguing against application of death penalty for juvenile offenders will be published soon.

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(Cairo, 18 August  2009) The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), in collaboration with the International Campaign For Human Rights In Iran, has published an Arabic translation of “Child Executions, A Study of Roots and Proposed Intellectual And Jurisprudential Solutions,” by Iranian human rights defender and winner of the 2009 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights, Emad Baghi.

Baghi presents comprehensive research on child executions, a punishment that is still inflicted in a few Islamic countries. His study is based on arguments supported by Islamic and international law, and concludes that abolishing any form of  death penalty is necessary, including the execution of child offenders convicted of crimes they committed under the age of 18.

This study is the second part of Baghi’s book, “Right to Life,” in which he focuses on abolishing child executions and goes further in discussions that support abolishing child execution based on Islamic laws and arguments that prove that Islamic countries can eradicate this penalty.

The author analyzes the intellectual and jurisprudential basis for executing children for crimes committed under 18 years of age in countries that depend on Islamic arguments in their legislation, Iran being one of them, and thereby reaching the conclusion of the necessity of abolishing this punishment. Throughout his study, Baghi refers to Koranic verses, Islamic jurisprudential rules, and the principles of human rights.

The book is banned in Iran, as was its first volume, because of its bold arguments in criticizing the penal codes in Iran and due to Baghi’s objection to some interpretations of Islamic laws. Baghi was imprisoned because of his activities in defense of human rights, yet he prepared this research while in Evin prison in Tehran. He was released in July 2008.

Because of his outstanding efforts in defending human rights and specifically abolishing the death penalty, Baghi was awarded the 2009 Martin Ennals Prize for Human rights, one of the most important prizes in human rights recommended by 10 human rights eminent organizations.

The Arabic Network  for Human Rights Information ( ANHRI) and the International Campaign For Human Rights In Iran translate and published this study in Arabic as  a valuable document to assist policy makers, legislators, Shura council members and scholars in Islamic countries in making new laws and legislations based on Islamic references and human rights standards, which gives assurance that Islamic jurisprudence does not contradict efforts to abolish death penalty, and in particular to end the execution of child offenders.

There are currently five Islamic countries, three of which are Arab countries, whose legal codes allow for the execution of child offenders: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Pakistan.

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For Baghi’s Letter to Judiciary in English click here.

For Baghi’s Article “The Bloodied Stone” in English click here.

To order a free hard copy of “Right to Life” in Arabic send an email to:
Omaima Gassim: oma@anhri.net

The list is the result of comprehensive primary research by prominent Iranian human rights defender Emad Baghi. It forms part of his thus-far unpublished book “Right to Life II,” which demonstrates that such executions are not sanctioned by Islamic law as argued by Iranian authorities. The Iranian censors have not permitted the book to be published.Baghi’s book is the product of his research into religious sources arguing for the abolition of executions for child offenders. He compiles reliable and official sources for such executions carried out over the past decade. The book was distributed in limited numbers to Iranian officials in the Judiciary and the Parliament as well as to human rights defenders and organizations inside Iran. The Campaign has obtained a copy of “Right to Life II,” which documents approximately 177 execution sentences for child offenders over the past decade. Accordingly, 34 executions have taken place to date, another 114 are apparently pending, and the remainder have been pardoned.

Due to the lack of transparency in Iran’s judicial system, it is possible that some of the 114 juvenile offenders on death row may already have been executed.

Iran leads the world in executing child offenders. In 2008, Iran has carried two such executions: Javad Shojai on 26 February and Mohammad Hassanzadeh on 10 June.

“It is time for Iran to abolish the death penalty for child offenders. Even Judiciary officials within the system are against these executions, but do not dare to speak publicly,” Hadi Ghaemi, a spokesperson for the Campaign said.

The majority of child offenders on the list are accused of murder. However, as Baghi’s detailed research in his banned book shows, many sentences are based on confessions obtained from child defendants following torture and after interrogations in which they have had no access to a lawyer. Courts routinely ignore evidence presented by defendants demonstrating that they acted in self-defense.

According to Iran’s criminal code, boys may be subjected to penalties including execution at the age of 15 and girls at age of 9. Soghra Najafpour is a woman imprisoned in Rasht prison since 1990 when she was only 13 years old and accused of murder. Mosleh Zamani, another child offender, is sentenced to death for an “illicit relationship with his girlfriend.”

In the city of Firoozabad, Fars province, the execution of Abu Moslem Sohrabi, 17 at the time of his crime, is imminent, according to his father.

The Campaign called on Iran to immediately abolish the death penalty for child offenders. As a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran is obligated to abolish such executions.

“We are calling upon the international community to denounce child executions in Iran and around the world, and to take concrete steps to convince the Iranian authorities that such uncivilized practices have negative consequences for Iran’s international and economic relations,” Ghaemi said.