Fingers of two Iranian prisoners amputated over theft
Iran cut off four fingers of the right hands of two brothers convicted of theft on Tuesday as the government continues its onslaught of amputations.
Iran cut off four fingers of the right hands of two brothers convicted of theft on Tuesday as the government continues its onslaught of amputations.
The amputations to Shahab and Mehrdad Teimouri at Urmia Central Prison were carried out using a guillotine-like device after the sentence was approved by the Supreme Court.
The punishment was carried out at the prison's execution unit before the prisoners were transferred to Khomeini Hospital in Urmia for medical treatment.
Shahab, born in 1985, and Mehrdad, in 1990, were originally from Sarpole Zahab in Kermanshah province but resided in Karaj.
They, along with another defendant named Ebrahim Khatibi, were arrested in Karaj in December 2017 for theft. The following year, all three were sentenced to the amputation of four fingers of their right hands by the Juvenile Court of West Azarbaijan province.
The Supreme Court overturned Khatibi's sentence and referred his case to another court, where he was ultimately sentenced to 20 years in prison. Despite appeals from defense attorneys, the amputation sentence for Shahab and Mehrdad was finalized.
Five other prisoners in Urmia Prison face similar amputation sentences. With the transfer of a guillotine to Urmia Central Prison from Tehran, the threat of execution of these sentences has become more imminent, despite international condemnation and human rights concerns.
The issuance and execution of hand amputation sentences became part of the Islamic Republic's judicial system after the 1979 revolution.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran has signed, explicitly prohibits cruel and degrading punishment. According to Article 7 of this covenant, “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Amputation is considered such a punishment.
Iran is one of the few countries that uses amputation as punishment for certain crimes and has not joined the International Convention against Torture.
The World Medical Association (WMA) expressed its deep concern about the implementation of such punishments in a letter to Iranian authorities in October 2019. The WMA condemned these punishments as being contrary to human dignity and emphasized that the disability caused by amputation is irreversible and destructive of human dignity.
Speaking to Tasnim News Agency, Amir Aziz Nasirzadeh said: "The enemy attempted to damage both our defensive and offensive systems. However, due to precautions, there was minimal impact, and as you saw, there were no casualties or injuries in our defense industries.”
His comments come after the hours-long assault spread over three waves which targeted air defense systems, key Iranian industrial production facilities of missiles and drones, and missile launch bases.
Spread across Tehran, Kermanshah, Qom, Ahvaz, Shiraz, and the farther Semnan province, the operation involved around 100 aircraft.
However, playing down the impact, Nasirzadeh said: “Furthermore, since this technology is domestically produced, we were able to replace one of the air defense systems the very next day, so there has been no disruption in our offensive production capabilities, such as missiles." However, Israeli and other reports say Iran's Russian-made S-300 system was targeted, which is the main long-range interceptor missiles defending the country.
The Defense Minister also went on to dismiss claims that Israeli fighter jets had entered Iranian airspace. "According to the United Nations Charter, any country has the right to respond if its airspace is violated,” he said, suggesting that denials may avoid a necessary deepening of the conflict between the decades-long enemies.
He also denied damage to an IRGC missile facility in Shahroud while satellite imagery from Planet Labs showing a significant impact at the site that builds ballistic missiles and launches rockets as part of its own space program.
So far, Iran only has identified Israeli attacks as taking place in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces — not in rural Semnan province where the base is located.
A strike on Shahroud potentially further restrains the IRGC’s ability to manufacture the solid-fuel ballistic missiles it needs to stockpile as a deterrent against Israel. Tehran long has relied on that arsenal as it cannot purchase the advanced Western weapons that Israel and Iran's Persian Gulf Arab neighbors have armed themselves with over the years, particularly from the United States.
The site also hosts the Imam Khomeini Space Center, which is used by Iran’s space program. The images show a central, major building at the Shahroud Space Center have been destroyed, the shadow of its still-standing frame seen in the image taken Tuesday morning.
The imagery, seen by the Associated Press, showed vehicles gathered around the site, believed to be officials inspecting the damage, with more cars than normal parked at the site’s main gate nearby.
Three small buildings just to the south of the main structure also appeared to be damage, AP said. Iran has been constructing new buildings at the base in recent months. Another hangar to the northeast of the main building also appeared to have been damaged.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, blamed the US for helping facilitate the logistics of the attack.
”Our intelligence indicates that Israeli fighter jets carried out this attack through a corridor facilitated by US forces," he said. "We have lodged our complaint with the United Nations and other international bodies and will continue to pursue this matter.”
Coordinating Deputy of Iran's Army Admiral Habibollah Sayyari also denied the penetration of Iran’s air space, reported first by Iran International.
“Thanks to the readiness and alertness of our air defenses and Air Force in a coordinated operation, the enemy was prevented from breaching our borders,” he said.
“They were forced to launch ballistic missiles from 100 kilometers outside our borders, many of which were intercepted by our defenses, though some did strike certain areas.”
One day after Iran International reported Israeli F-35s had entered Iran's airspace for the first time and bombed targets near Tehran, CNN reported that Israeli fighter jets entered Iranian airspace during the Saturday attack.
In a statement on Tuesday, the EU condemned in the strongest terms the execution of the German-Iranian national and expressed its full solidarity with Germany. Similar remarks were made by European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell on his X account on Tuesday.
“The European Union reiterates its call on Iran to end the distressing practice of detaining foreign civilians and dual nationals with a view to making political gains,” read the statement by the EU.
Iran executed the 68-year-old dissident who was a software developer and California resident on Monday. He was abducted by Iranian agents during a visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2020 and forcibly taken to Iran. In February 2023, the Iranian judiciary sentenced him to death on charges of endangering national security.
On Tuesday, Germany recalled its ambassador to Iran and summoned the Iranian chargé d'affaires. Several German officials, including German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, spoke out against the killing, a move that prompted Iran to react and defend the execution.
The ambassador left Iran on Wednesday morning, said a German foreign ministry spokesperson.
The spokesperson added that the execution of Sharmahd has put "extreme" strain on the relationship between Berlin and Tehran.
The Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry summoned German Ambassador Markus Potzel over what the ministry called Berlin’s meddling in Iran’s internal affairs.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to the announcement on X, saying, “How about 'an EU measure' to end the killing of more than 50k Palestinians in Gaza? How about 'an EU measure' to allow 1.5 million refugees in Lebanon to return to their homes? How about 'an EU measure' to support the families of those killed by Jamshid Sharmahd?”
“If not, Europe only stands for hypocrisy,” the foreign minister added.
Sharmahd was convicted of heading a pro-monarchist group named Tondar accused of a deadly bombing incident that occurred in 2008 at a religious center in Shiraz, killing 14 and injuring 215 more. The accusation, repeatedly denied by Sharmahd, was never substantiated by documented evidence. He was denied a fair trial and due process, as most other political prisoners, especially dual nationals.
“Iranian restrictions on consular access to our citizens, the denial of consular protection and fair trial are not acceptable and stand in direct violation of international law,” the EU noted in its statement.
The EU also slammed the high number of executions in Iran. "The European Union reaffirms its strong and unequivocal opposition to the use of death penalty at all times, in all places and in all circumstances, especially taking into account the alarming increase in executions recorded in Iran last year and this year."
Iran conducted the most executions of any country in the world after China last year, Amnesty said in a report in May, adding that nearly 75% of all executions worldwide in 2023 outside China were in Iran. The recent wave of executions brings the total number of hangings in Iran this year to more than 567, including 20 women, according to rights groups.
