Category: Iran

Talk at Cathedral


Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in conversation at the Cathedral

February 2025

Nazanin will be in conversation with the Bishop of Sherborne on Saturday 8th March in the Cathedral. This is a free event. Details and booking are on the Cathedral site. Members of the Salisbury group and other Amnesty groups around the country campaigned on behalf of Nazanin over a long period of time. We were delighted when she secured her released from prison in Iran. Members of the local group were a little disappointed therefore not to be invited to play a part in the event.

Letter to the Salisbury Journal in 2017

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Good news!


Toomaj Salehi has been released

December 2024

Members of the Salisbury group took part in a campaign for the release of an Iranian rapper and he has been released. The joint voices of nearly 27,000 people —Toomaj, an Iranian rapper, activist, and advocate for justice, has been finally released. Iran is an operates an oppressive state with many basic freedoms denied to its citizens.

Together, we sent a clear message to Iranian authorities: The world is watching, and we won’t stay silent when freedom and human rights are at stake.

Toomaj has been a powerful supporter of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, sparked by the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini, a young woman who died in police custody for defying abusive forced veiling laws in Iran. Through his music, Toomaj called for justice, equality, and an end to the violent crackdown on protests in Iran. His release is proof that when we unite for what’s right, we can create change

Image: Tribune on line

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Iran: death penalty overturned


Toomaj Salehi’s death penalty overturned. Rare good news from Iran

June 2024

The Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi has been spared the death penalty it was reported by Reuters this morning. A number of celebrities have called for his release including Sting. He is not totally out of the woods however since he will be retried and is likely to be sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. His crime was to sing songs in favour of the many protests which have taken place in the country.

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Death penalty report


February 2023

We are pleased to attach our latest death penalty report for the period Mid January/February thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. It features the orgy of executions in Iran following the uprisings as well as reports from Saudi where the range of offences leading to executions has increased, and USA. Note as always that there is no mention of China which is believed to execute more of its citizens than the rest of the world combined but the details of which are a state secret.

Report (Word)Download
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Iran: urgent action


October 2022

Iran is appearing in the news in the last week or so as a result of the death of a woman, Mahsa Amini, who was allegedly beaten by Iran’s Morality Police for not covering her hair properly. Riots have broken out all round the country and have continued for many days. According to Hrana, the Iranian human rights organisation, the family was told she would be released after attending a session on re-education. Yesterday, schoolgirls were reported to be shouting ‘get lost’ to a spokesman from the Morality Police.

This urgent action concerns two women under risk of execution for their real or perceived sexual orientation. If you are able to sign, that would be greatly appreciated. See the link below:

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/urgent-actions/iranian-lgbti-defender-sentenced-death?utm_campaign=MEMA4646S_Oct_2022_UANetwork&utm_content=119731&utm_source=amnestyuk&utm_medium=email
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Good News From Iran: Death Sentence Overturned


A man sentenced to death for an offence when he was a child has had his sentence overturned by the Iranian Supreme Court after 18 years on death row. Mohammad Reza Haddadi was 15 years old when he was arrested in 2002 on charges of committing murder while stealing a car. Although he initially pleaded guilty he later explained that his two co-defendants had coerced him by promising him money to take the rap for the murder telling him that he would not receive the death penalty as he was underage. Iran is one of the few countries in the world that still uses the death sentence against minors even though it is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which prohibits the use of the death sentence for crimes committed by anyone under the age of 18. However, in Sharia law, the “age of criminal responsibility” for children is defined as the age of maturity, which means that females over 9 lunar years of age and boys over 15 lunar years of age are both eligible for execution if convicted of “crimes against God” (such as apostasy) or “retribution crimes” (such as murder).

The law grants judges the discretion to replace the death penalty with an alternative sentence if they find that there are doubts about the individual’s comprehension of the nature of the crime or consequences, or their full “mental growth and maturity” at the time of the crime. International human rights organizations say Iran is responsible for more than 70% of all juveniles executed in the last 30 years with at least 63 in the last decade, including at least six in 2018 and four in 2019. Given the security state, suppression of civil society activists, and limited interaction with detainees, the number of juvenile executions is likely to be significantly greater than reported.

In 2020 Iran carried out at least 246 executions with 194 were for murder; 23 for drug-related offences; 12 for rape; four for “armed insurrection against the state”; five for “enmity against God”; two for espionage; one for “spreading corruption on earth” and one for drinking alcohol. One execution was carried out in public and nine women were executed. Hanging and shooting were the methods of execution. The Islamic Penal Code continued to provide for execution by stoning, for some consensual same-sex sexual conduct and extramarital sexual relations. The death penalty was increasingly used as a weapon of political repression against dissidents, protesters and members of ethnic minority groups.

Repost from Amnesty

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Iran


Juvenile at risk of execution

This is an urgent action concerning a juvenile at risk of execution in Iran. If you can take some action it would be appreciated.

Urgent action

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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe


BBC programme about Nazanin

Members of the group and supporters will know that we have campaigned over the years on behalf of Nazanin who remains trapped in Iran. The last post we did can be accessed here. The main reason is the issue surrounding the tank deal we arranged with the Shah before he was deposed. Iran paid up front for these and after he was deposed the contract was cancelled and the new regime wanted its money back. Nazanin is effectively a hostage for this money.

At 13:45, after the World at One on Radio 4 (BBC) there is a fifteen minute programme each day on the background to this tragedy. You will be able to hear it via BBC Sounds in the usual way.

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Iran: execution


Iran is one of the world’s major countries for executing its citizens often after inadequate trials and the use of torture. We learned today that the execution has taken place in Iran of Arman Abdolali.  This is the young man for whom Amnesty have campaigned recently.  Now aged 25, he was sentenced to death as a child following his conviction for murder in a trial that was grossly unfair and included confessions obtained through torture.  International condemnation led to his execution being halted twice – most recently on 16th October – but he has now been executed under the ‘qisas’ laws allowing the victim’s family to request ‘an eye for an eye’ justice.

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Help stop an execution in Iran


Arman Abdolali was due to be executed today but it has now been scheduled for Saturday. We ask that you spend a few moments to send a message to the Iranian Embassy to ask them not to do this. Full details are in the link below.

Arman was just 17 when he was arrested. He was held in solitary confinement and beaten regularly, before “confessing”. He says this “confessions” was obtained under torture and there are serious concerns about his trial. 
 

Take action by calling on the Iranian Embassy in the UK to ensure the execution on Saturday does not go ahead. 

http://email.amnestyuk.org.uk/q/11mqIvSAxHoACoGGucijZqv/wv

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