Review of the Bill to Halt Executions and Public Whipping in Parliament

A bill is currently under review in the Iranian parliament's committees that, if approved by the parliament and confirmed by the Guardian Council, would prohibit the execution of death sentences, whipping, and amputations in public places with spectators, except in cases explicitly stated in Islamic law. The bill, titled 'Method of Executing Death Sentences, Amputations, and Bodily Harm,' was introduced in the parliament session on June 9 and is being examined in the committees. The presence of children during executions in Iranian cities has repeatedly sparked protests in the media and social networks. International human rights organizations have condemned the execution of death sentences with spectators in Iran on several occasions. Meanwhile, the execution of death sentences in stadiums has led to a 'warning' from FIFA to Iran. For instance, in 2016, the FIFA Secretary-General stated in response to a complaint from a French human rights organization that the organization intends to prevent executions in Iranian stadiums. Previously, Ali Kaffashian, the then-president of the Football Federation, had reported in 2013 that FIFA had warned Iran about holding execution ceremonies in football stadiums and requested that such events be prevented. According to Article 3 of FIFA's statutes, the organization is committed to respecting internationally recognized human rights and working to protect them. The high number of executions in Iran and the execution of individuals under 18 years old have almost annually drawn protests from the UN Human Rights Council and international human rights organizations. According to Amnesty International, Iran was the second highest country in the world for executions in 2017. The organization stated that at least 507 people were executed in Iran last year, which is more than half of the total recorded executions worldwide. Of the 507 executions carried out in Iran last year, 205 were related to drug offenses and 240 were related to retribution, marking the first time that executions for drug offenses were fewer than those for other crimes. Based on a law passed in the autumn of 2017 in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the issuance of death sentences for drug trafficking offenses has been limited. Following Iran, Saudi Arabia had 146 executions, and Iraq and Pakistan had 125 and 60 executions, respectively, in 2017. In related news, five individuals in Kermanshah were whipped for 'publicly breaking the fast,' and 200 people in Qazvin were whipped for the same offense. Amputation of fingers in public is deemed 'promoting violence.' 'Torture, executions, and severe restrictions continue in Iran.'