Vasemi and Four Religious Scholars: Abolishing the Death Penalty Does Not Contradict Islam

Four clerics and instructors of the advanced religious studies, along with Sediqeh Vasemi, a jurisprudence professor, state that abolishing the death penalty does not contradict Islam in any way. Mohammad Taqi Akbarnajad, Shahabuddin Haeri Shirazi, Abdul Rahim Soleimani Ardestani, Ahmad Abedini, and Sediqeh Vasemi wrote in a statement on Tuesday, March 8, that 'over the decades, individuals have been sentenced to death through opaque judicial processes and for political reasons,' and that the execution of such individuals 'is considered a crime.' They emphasized that such rulings in a religious government 'lead to social unrest and increased public anger,' calling for the abolition of 'all issued death sentences.' The authors of this statement also demanded the establishment of 'justice,' 'maximum caution regarding human lives,' and 'transparent trials in competent and independent courts' with the presence of 'fair judges.' This statement comes at a time when death sentences have been issued for some political prisoners such as Pakhshan Azizi, Varisheh Moradi, Sharifeh Mohammadi, Mehdi Hasani, and Behrouz Ehsani Islamloo. Meanwhile, in recent days, several civil activists, including Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner, gathered twice against the issuance of death sentences in front of Evin Prison. During their second protest on the evening of February 19, holding placards with titles such as 'No to Execution' and burning nooses, they called for public support for the hunger strike campaign of political prisoners known as 'Tuesdays Against Execution.' The Iranian government executed '975 individuals' in 2024. Hundreds of prisoners in Qazalhasar, Evin, and more than 30 other prisons across Iran have been on hunger strike since February 2024 in a campaign dubbed 'Tuesdays Against Execution' to protest the continuation of executions in the country. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization and the French organization 'Together Against the Death Penalty' reported on Thursday, February 2, that the Iranian government executed 975 individuals last year. These two human rights organizations accused the Islamic Republic of using this punishment as a 'main tool of political repression,' noting that the execution statistics in Iran have increased by 17 percent compared to the previous year. Over 200 lawyers in Iran have called for the suspension of the death penalty for three female activists.