Sharia law returns to Iran. Two thieves’ fingers amputated

The Iranian authorities have amputated the fingers of two men convicted of theftin a relatively rare use of a punishment permitted by the Islamic republic’s penal code, Sharia law, but condemned as abhorrent and illegal by activists. The two, brothers of Kurdish origin, suffered the amputation of four fingers of the right hand by a guillotine machine in the prison of the city of Urmia, in northwestern Iran, as reported by the NGO Human Rights Activists News.

They were then transferred to hospital for medical treatment, the reports added. Shahab and Mehrdad Teimouri had been initially arrested in 2019 on charges of theft and sentenced to imprisonment and the amputation of their fingers. “Amputations as a form of punishment are prohibited under international law, in particular the prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as outlined in the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which the Iran is a signatory,” the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said, referring to two U.N. agreements.

According to the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, Iranian authorities have amputated the fingers of at least 131 men since January 2000. But the enforcement of such sentences has been less frequent in recent years. One man in May 2022 and another convicted of theft in July 2022 had their fingers amputated in Tehran’s Evin prison, according to Amnesty International. The amputations come as concern grows over the rising number of executions in Iran in recent months.

These include this week’s hanging of Iranian-born German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd. His family says he was kidnapped by Iranian forces while in the United Arab Emirates in 2020. According to another Norway-based NGO, Iran Human Rights, Iran has executed 633 people this year alone. Activists accuse the authorities of using the death penalty as a way to instill fear in society.