Issuance of Sentences for Amputation of Fingers of Several Thieves in Two Areas of Tehran

The head of the "Basit" judicial complex has announced the issuance of sentences for the amputation of four fingers of several armed thieves in areas 16 and 19 of Tehran, which are currently in the "appeal" stage. On Tuesday (September 2), Sadegh Rezvani told the "Mizan" news agency that these sentences were issued for a number of thieves who were arrested in the first five months of this year. Mr. Rezvani stated that 66 cases related to theft have been filed in branch 1155 of this complex over the past five months. This judicial official did not specify how many of these theft cases resulted in the issuance of sentences for the amputation of four fingers. The head of the "Basit" judicial complex also added that these cases were categorized as "theft accompanied by violence or armed robbery" and typically involve "many plaintiffs." Human rights advocates describe the implementation of such punishments, similar to stoning, as "inhuman and cruel," and some criminologists believe that this type of punishment "can incite violence in society." This judicial official further noted that one of these cases had about 700 plaintiffs, as "in these crimes, a gang or group of thieves is arrested." Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Somalia are among the countries that enforce the law of finger amputation for thieves. Article 201 of the Islamic Penal Code grants judicial courts the authority to issue a sentence for the amputation of four fingers of a thief in the first instance, and in the second instance, they can order the amputation of the "left foot of the thief." The Islamic Penal Code does consider multiple conditions for proving and necessitating the execution of this sentence, but in recent years, sentences for the amputation of fingers have been carried out for several thieves in Yazd, Bushehr, Mashhad, Ilam, and several other cities. Some of these sentences have been executed in public, facing widespread protests from activists and human rights organizations. The implementation of Islamic punishments over the past 36 years has been one of the reasons for international criticism, including from the United Nations, against the Islamic Republic, but judicial officials defend the implementation of these sentences. Previously, Hadi Ghaemi, director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, told Radio Farda, "These medieval sentences executed by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran are strongly condemned by us, and we believe that these provisions of the Islamic Penal Code are completely at odds with international human rights standards, amounting to torture under international law and violating Iran's commitments."