Iran: stoning and executions must stop
IFIR - 11.02.2003 13:57
Public Meeting on stonings and Executions in Iran at House of Commons
Hambastegi English Number 145, 10 February 2003
Paper of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR)
A public meeting will be held on stonings and executions in Iran with Mina Ahadi and Maryam Namazie as speakers representing the International Committee against Stoning and the Campaign against Executions in Iran. The London meeting will be held at the House of Commons, Committee Room 8 on Tuesday 11 February 2003 from 3-5pm.
Executions have always been one of the mainstays of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Islamic regime established itself from 20 June 1981 with widespread executions and murders. Since then, and particularly in 1988, the regime has executed 100,000 political opponents, progressives, communists, women, labour activists, people attributed to religious and ethnic minorities, youth and gays and lesbians in what has come to be known as one of the greatest crimes of the 20th Century. During the past two decades, the regime has massacred innumerable human beings to remain in power. There are ample statistics, documents and witnesses to prove this. With escalating protests against the entirety of Islamic rule, the regime has once again stepped up its executions in order to intimidate the protesting public.
According to Maryam Namazie, the Campaign against executions in Iran's Coordinator, 'While the Islamic regime has stepped up executions, it has at the same time been forced to temporarily suspend execution by stoning in early January 2003 as a result of local and international pressure, spearheaded by the International Committee against Stoning. But this is nowhere enough. Ashraf, Sima, Ferdows and Shahnaz, four women with pending sentences of death by stoning and Nosrat Abouie who managed to escape during her stoning and is now in prison are all still at risk of alternative forms of punishment including execution.
Latest News: Four young men, Mohammad Saadat Fath, Nader Ebrahimi, Ali Farsameh and Davoud Jafari were publicly hanged in Arak, western Iran on 30 January 2003. They were accused of 'raping people's honour'. There has also been a news report that a young woman and man who have been accused of 'adultery' and 'murder' are to be executed in Karaj rather than stoned to death. This is the first case of an alternative form of execution since stoning to death was temporarily suspended by the Islamic regime in Iran.
Numerous women, men and youth are currently awaiting execution. International public pressure can and must remove this brutal means at the Islamic regime's disposal and impel it to immediately stop all executions.
The Campaign against Executions in Iran unequivocally opposes capital punishment and calls for its abolition in all countries. The Campaign aims to:
* mobilise international protest against and condemnation of executions in Iran
* galvanise public pressure against the Islamic regime in Iran and its Western government supporters
* save the lives of those under execution sentences
* stop executions in Iran
For more information, contact Maryam Namazie at +44 (0) 7719166731,  m.namazie@ukonline.co.uk.
 E-Mail: ifir@ukonline.co.uk  Website: http://www.hambastegi.org
|
