islamic Rep. is now on a real binge of amputations

Iran Times International July 30, 2010:The Islamic Republic has cut off a hand of each of five convicted thieves in the western province of Hamadan. It was the third instance of court-ordered amputations in just 15 weeks—and a rare case of mass amputation. Prior to that, it had more than two years since a court-ordered amputation had been reported. In the city of Hamadan, Prosecutor Ahmad Biglari said the five men were all repeat offenders, the Iranian Labor News Agency reported. He did not give their names or other details except to say all were aged “a little over 25.” He also commented, “When a hand is used to rob and cause harm to people, it must be shortened.” He said amputation is not automatic for repeat thieves, as a total of 14 criteria must be met before an amputation is ordered. Three weeks ago, the daily Kayhan said an amputation was carried carried out in Malayer, also in Hamadan province, and that the man had been convicted multiple times previously for theft. In April, a man convicted of hijacking trucks and selling their contents in Khuzestan province had one hand and one leg amputated for his crimes. The last known amputation prior to this recent spate was more than two years previously in January 2008 in Zahedan when the Islamic Republic severed the right hands and left feet of five men convicted of armed robbery. That was believed to be the largest mass amputation ever carried out by Iran until replicated last week in Hamadan. The punishment for repeated convictions of theft without a threatening weapon is to have four fingers of the right hand amputated, under the regime’s reading of traditional Islamic law. The five men in Zahedan in 2008 had both the right hand and left foot amputated because they were convicted of armed robbery, not ordinary theft. The 2008 amputations came just four months after four thieves had the fingers of their right hands chopped off in Mashhad. Amputations are not common. According to published reports collected by the Iran Times, last week’s amputations in Hamadan were the 32nd to 36th since early 1997. But that means half of all the amputations in the last 13 years have occurred in the last three years.

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