A prominent international human rights watchdog has condemned the Iranian authorities for amputating one hand of a man convicted of robbery and urged the country to eliminate corporal punishment
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2019) A prominent international human rights watchdog has condemned the Iranian authorities for amputating one hand of a man convicted of robbery and urged the country to eliminate corporal punishment.
On October 23, the Justice Department of Iran's Mazandaran province said that the amputation of the man's hand goes in line with the policy "to crackdown, severely and without hesitation, on those who disrupt public order and security and steal public funds," as quoted by Amnesty International.
Media reported, citing the justice department, that the unnamed man had confessed to 28 cases of robbery from homes, and thus was punished according to Islamic law.
"By carrying out this unspeakably cruel punishment, the Iranian authorities have committed torture which is a crime under international law. As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and also under customary international law, Iran is legally obliged to forbid torture in all circumstances and without exception," International's Deputy middle East and North Africa Director Saleh Higazi said as quoted in a press release.
The watchdog also called on the Iranian parliament to immediately reform the country's criminal code, excluding from it all forms of corporal punishment.
According to Sharia law, practiced by the Iranian judicial system, amputation of hands is used for criminals who have repeatedly been convicted of theft. However, this punishment has been carried out quite rarely in recent years.
