Cheap Humanity

How cheap human life must be in Iran that ten people could be hanged in one day on May 15th. Next to China, Iran has the highest rate of death sentences in the world with 580 people being put to death in 2012. Furthermore International Human Rights Law mandates that capital punishment may only be given to crimes that are "intentional crimes with lethal and extremely grave consequences". Yet in Iran it is given for blasphemy, adultery, "acts incompatible with chastity" and recently even theft. I fail to see the lethal consequences in these crimes.

The legal system does not favour the defendant and often they are not given adequate legal representation or appeal., with lawyers that are merely actors in the theatre they call trials. Not only is Iran handing out the death penalty at a rapid rate but it does not even give its citizens enough respect to effectively defend themselves in court. Horrifyingly Iran has also on several occasions sentenced children (under the age of 18) to death, despite being a signatory on the International Conventions on Human Rights and The Convention of the Rights of the Child both of which forbid the execution of minors.

Public executions are also common practice in Iran, another element of the "show", often staged in large football stadiums or public squares. Perhaps most frightful is that the regime has moved past using the death penalty as a deterrent for crime, and uses it as a deterrent for dissonance, effectively turning punishment for "lethal crimes" into a political tool. This is evident by the increasingly common public executions which according which according to a report by Iran Human Rights are being used as a weapon to instill fear in the run-up to the elections.

Ironically, Iranians have become so used to their fate that jail is no longer seen as something to be ashamed of; in fact for many pro opposition, jail time is seen as something to be respected. Perhaps the real question is, how many more can we expect to be jailed and hanged in the run-up to the election? Will the public react with shock, or just take it as expected?