Iran, torture | Norway is very concerned about torture: four fingers will be cut off

Activists and organizations said last week that four men between the ages of 30 and 40 in Iran have been sentenced to the amputation of four fingers each. People have been convicted of robbery.

Both Amnesty International and Iran Human Rights condemn the plans to handcuff those convicted.

Also read: Four men convicted of robbery: – Four fingers must be cut off their hands

Amnesty International issued a statement of concern last Friday. The organizations believe that the punishment may be imminent, as the verdict must be approved by the country’s Supreme Court.

“They are condemned to have four fingers cut off from their right hand, leaving only the palm and thumb left,” Amnesty International said in a press release.

Torture by cutting the hand violates the international law convention on torture. Activists and organizations call on the international community to act and demand an end to the grotesque planned punitive measures.

Very worried

The Foreign Ministry (MFA) says Norway is concerned about the human rights situation in Iran, including the use of torture and executions.

– We are very concerned about the human rights situation in Iran, including the use of torture and the practice of the death penalty. We regularly raise this directly with the Iranian authorities and in multilateral forums, says the Secretary of State of the Foreign Ministry, Audun Halvorsen, in a statement to Nettavisen.

Also read: This machine amputates fingers

– Our concern about human rights violations emerged recently when the Foreign Minister met with Iran’s ambassador last week and at the UN Human Rights Council last Friday, where Norway joined a joint position with more than 45 other countries. Norway is opposed, in principle, to the death penalty in any case. As the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran has pointed out in his latest report, the high number of executions in the country is very worrying, says Halvorsen.

During the first six months of the year, 123 executions were carried out in Iran, according to a report by Iran Human Rights (IHR). Executions are usually carried out by hanging, but there is also the shooting of an execution squad.

– Extremely extreme. We are not talking about IS

Iran’s Human Rights Chief Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam says the punishment has yet to take place. But he does not rule out that it may happen during the fall.

– Everything indicates that this will happen in the coming weeks. We know that these punishments often take place behind closed doors. And it hasn’t received much international attention. It is very rare that there have been statements about such criminal methods, says Amiry-Moghaddam.

– This is completely extreme. We are not talking about ISIS, but about a country where our foreign minister, in theory, can sit down with the authorities and have a cup of tea. Our authorities have met with the Iranian authorities on several occasions. And therefore, we expect even stronger reactions than we got when ISIS was devastated. But we haven’t received it, he says.

Islamic Penal Code

Islamic criminal law in Iran has its own skin section. Hudud refers to crimes that in the Qur’an are called violating the “limits of God”. Theft is one of the fur crimes that is punishable by cutting by hand.

– Carrying out such horrible and inhumane punishments is not justice and underscores the brutality of the Iranian criminal justice system. Amputation is torture prohibited under international law. It is a heinous attack on human dignity, Amnesty Middle East and Africa Deputy Director Diana Eltahawy said in a statement.

Also read: Sentenced to hand amputation after several robberies at home

“The international community must act immediately to ensure that the execution of the sentence is stopped,” Eltahawy said.

30 cuts

Iran Human Rights has tracked the number of times the regime has publicly announced this type of punishment. The organization believes that the regime uses punishment as a deterrent and to spread fear and terror in society. In the past ten years, amputation has been performed more than 30 times, according to the organization’s census.