UK Imposes Sanctions on Iran after Execution of British-Iranian National Alireza Akbari

THE GUARDIAN: Prosecutor general punished as smuggled recording released of Akbari saying he was subjected to ‘3,500 hours of torture’

In the smuggled audio recording, Akbari says he was forced to make a ‘false confession’.Photograph: Khabar Online/AFP/Getty Images
Britain has imposed sanctions on the Iranian prosecutor general after the country’s execution of the British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari, while Iran has summoned the UK ambassador.

Akbar was executed on Saturday after Iranian authorities claimed he was an MI6 spy, charges his family and the Foreign Office deny.

Britain had already summoned the most senior Iranian diplomat in the UK to the Foreign Office to demand an explanation. And in what may prove a turning point in British-Iranian relations, the UK’s response is likely to go further by eventually including the proscription of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a move that is also being considered by the EU.

The Foreign Office has known about Akbari’s detention for a long time, but had chosen, in line with the wishes of the family, to put private pressure on the regime to secure his release. He was arrested in 2019 after he returned to Tehran from London to advise the regime on the future of the Iran nuclear deal. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Saturday, January 14, 2023

Iran executes British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari accused of spying: UK prime minister Rishi Sunak says execution was a ‘callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime’ »

Eric Shawn Reports: The Execution and the E-mails

Aug. 07, 2016 - 6:23 - Rep. Lee Zeldin on Iran nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri

Iran: Nuclear Scientist Executed for Spying for US

An Iranian nuclear scientist who once claimed he was kidnapped by the CIA has been executed after being accused of spying for the United States.

Hollande demande à l'Arabie Saoudite de "renoncer à l'exécution" d'Ali al-Nimr

En marge du sommet extraordinaire sur les migrants qui a lieu à Bruxelles, le chef d'Etat français a demandé au royaume saoudien «de renoncer à l'exécution» du jeune chiite Ali al-Nimr. Ce dernier avait été arrêté à 17 ans en février 2012 pour avoir manifesté contre les autorités.

«Pour nous, tout doit être fait pour faire cesser ces exécutions partout, et notamment en Arabie saoudite. Et c'est pourquoi je demande à l'Arabie saoudite de renoncer à l'exécution du jeune Ali Mohammed Al-Nimr, au nom de ce principe essentiel qui est que la peine de mort doit être abolie et que les e

Iran Executes Reyhaneh Jabbari Despite Global Appeals for Retrial

Reyhaneh Jabbari defends herself during the first hearing of her
trial in 2008.

THE GUARDIAN: Activists say designer killed man in self defence after he tried to sexually assault her, and confession came under duress

Iran has ignored an international campaign to spare the life of a 26-year-old woman convicted of murder by hanging her at dawn on Saturday.

Reyhaneh Jabbari had spent five years on death row for stabbing a 47-year-old surgeon who had previously worked for the intelligence ministry, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The UN and bodies including the European Union and Amnesty International had said that the interior designer’s confession for killing Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi in 2007 was obtained under intense pressure and threats from Iranian prosecutors, and she should have had a retrial.

Ahmed Shaheed, the UN’s human rights rapporteur on Iran, said in April that the killing was an act of self defence. Sarbandi had offered to hire Jabbari to redesign his office and took her to an apartment where he tried to sexually abuse her.

Iranian actors and other prominent figures had also appealed for a stay of execution.

Efforts for clemency had intensified in recent weeks. Jabbari’s mother was allowed to visit her for one hour on Friday, Amnesty said - a custom that tends to precede executions in Iran.

However, Sarbandi’s family insisted the murder was premeditated and that Jabbari had confessed to buying a knife two days before the killing.

According to Jalal Sarbandi, the victim’s eldest son, Jabbari testified that a man was present in the apartment where his father was killed but she had refused to reveal his identity.

He said in April that his family “would not even contemplate mercy until truth is unearthed”.

“Only when her true intentions are exposed and she tells the truth about her accomplice and what really went down will we be prepared to grant mercy,” he said at the time.

Jabbari’s plea of self-defence failed to persuade judges at various stages of the appeal process up to Iran’s Supreme Court and she remained in prison throughout.

Her last chance of reprieve lay with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but he failed to intervene. » | Chris Johnston and agencies | Saturday, October 25, 2014

'Empire of Horror' North Korea Faces Worldwide Condemnation for Execution

Jang Song-thaek

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain, South Korea and the UN all criticise North Korea after execution of Jang Song-thaek, Kim Jong-un's uncle, with Carl Bildt labelling regime an "empire of horror"

North Korea faced worldwide condemnation on Friday after confirming that it had executed Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of Kim Jong-un and the man regarded as the communist state's second in command.

Pyongyang issued an extraordinary announcement describing Jang as a "despicable human being" who was "worse than a dog" and saying he had been shot dead immediately after a military tribunal found him guilty of plotting to overthrow his 29-year-old nephew.

The Foreign Office condemned the regime's brutality and its effect on the stability of north Asia. "We are deeply concerned to learn of the execution of Jang," Hugo Swire, a Foreign Office minister said. "More broadly, we remain deeply concerned about the impact of this unpredictable regime on stability in the region.

"Our embassy in Pyongyang is monitoring the situation closely and we will continue to maintain close contact with our allies on this."

China, the North's sole major ally and economic lifeline, said the execution was an internal matter but emphasised the need for stability. "As a neighbour we hope to see national stability, economic development and people living in happiness in the DPRK," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

But a leading Chinese expert on Korea said Beijing was worried. "China will be concerned about any uncertainty brought by the personnel reshuffles," said Li Kaisheng, a fellow at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "Stability in North Korea will be China's top priority now."

South Korea echoed Britain's comments, with its unification ministry saying: "The government has deep concerns about a recent series of developments in North Korea and is watching the situation closely."

Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister, condemned the "Stalinist" execution. "I think that what we see now publicly is only the surface of an empire of horror," he said. » | Damien McElroy | Friday, December 13, 2013

What the Execution of Kim Jong-un’s Uncle Says about North Korea

Read the Telegraph article here | Natasha Clark | Friday, December 13, 2013

North Korea Says Leader's Powerful Uncle Executed

News agency says Jang Song-thaek, uncle of Kim Jong-un, was found guilty of seeking to overthrow the state.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's Lawyer Calls for UK Intervention over Execution Fears

THE GUARDIAN: William Hague criticised by UK barrister for failing to back ICC ruling ordering Libya to hand over dictator's son to Hague court

The British lawyer representing Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has called on the UK to intervene on his client's behalf amid fears that the son of the former Libyan dictator will be sentenced to death in a trial expected later in August.

In a letter to the foreign secretary, John Jones QC urged the government to condemn Libya's refusal to hand over his client to the international criminal court to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Tripoli has so far refused to comply with the ICC's order that Gaddafi be sent to The Hague, in the Netherlands, and said repeatedly it would hold its own trial.

Last week a court in Misrata handed down the death sentence to Libya's former education minister Ahmed Ibrahim, and Jones fears that Gaddafi, 41, may share the same fate. » | Chris Stephen in Tripoli | Thursday, August 08, 2013

Florida to Execute Mentally Ill Man Despite Constitutional Prohibition

THE GUARDIAN: Schizophrenic man will die by lethal injection at 6pm Monday unless his lawyers can convince the supreme court to intervene

Florida is preparing to execute a schizophrenic man who believes that he is the immortal prince of God vested with superhuman powers that include an ability to control the sun, despite the US constitution's prohibition against putting mentally ill people to death.

John Ferguson, 65, will be killed by lethal injection at 6pm on Monday unless his lawyers can convince the US supreme court to intervene. Ferguson's legal team, backed by a raft of prominent legal and mental health organisations, are appealing on the nation's highest legal panel to step in on grounds that the execution would be a flagrant violation of the Eighth Amendment of the US constitution that bars "cruel and unusual punishment". » | Ed Pilkington in New York | Monday, August 05, 2013

Syria: 'I Saw Rebels Execute My Boy for No More Than a Joke’

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nadia Umm Fuad watched her son being shot by Islamist rebels in Syria after the 14-year-old referred to the Prophet Mohammed as he joked with a customer at his coffee stall in Aleppo. She speaks to Richard Spencer.

Mohammed Katta's mother witnessed the execution of her son in three stages.

She was upstairs at home when she first heard the shouting. The people of the neighbourhood were yelling that "they have brought back the kid", so she rushed out of her apartment.

"I went out on my balcony," Nadia Umm Fuad said. "I said to his father, they are going to shoot your son! Come! Come! Come! I was on the stairs when I heard the first shot. I was at the door when I heard the second shot.

"I saw the third shot. I was shouting, 'That's haram, forbidden! Stop! Stop! You are killing a child.' But they just gave me a dirty look and got into their car. As they went, they drove over my son's arm, as he lay there dying."

Mohammed was 14 when he was killed, earlier this month, prompting international condemnation. He has become a symbol of the fears many Syrians have for the future of a country where jihadists are vying with the regime for control. » | Richard Spencer, Aleppo | Friday, June 21, 2013

Report: Saudis Rethinking Method of Execution
ASSOCIATED PRESS: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A Saudi newspaper says a ministerial committee is looking into formally dropping public beheadings as a method of execution in the oil-rich kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where a death sentence results in beheading in a public square.

The authoritative daily Al-Watan says in its Sunday edition that the ministerial committee is considering fatal shootings as an alternative.

There have been calls in the kingdom for replacing public beheadings with lethal injections carried out in prisons. » | AP | Sunday, March 10, 2013

Iran Executes Man for Scientist Murder
May 15 - Iranian state news reports that an alleged Israeli spy, convicted last year of killing a scientist, has been hanged. Lindsey Parietti reports.

Egyptian Cleric Muhammad Hussein Yaaqub Calls for the Implementation of Islamic Punishments in Egypt: Execution, Crucifixion, and the Amputation of Opposite Hands and Feet – Al-Nas TV (Egypt) - March 16, 2012

Saudi Woman Executed for Burning Husband to Death
ARAB NEWS: RIYADH: A Saudi woman convicted of burning her husband to death was executed in Riyadh on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry announced. » | ARAB NEWS | Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Christian Convert in Iran Faces Execution
Iran is coming under growing pressure to free a man sentenced to death for converting to Christianity.

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William Hague Urges Iran to Spare Life of Pastor Facing Execution

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: William Hague has urged Iran to spare the life of a pastor reportedly facing execution for refusing to recant his Christian faith and return to Islam.

Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, a member of the Protestant evangelical Church of Iran, was arrested in 2009 for apostasy and he was sentenced to death last year.

The father of two held services in "home churches" in Rasht, a town about 150 miles north west of Tehran.

Reports suggest that an Iranian court gave Pastor Nadarkhani a third chance to avoid hanging, but he replied: "I am resolute in my faith and Christianity and have no wish to recant." » | Thursday, September 29, 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: White House condemns Iran over Christan pastor facing execution: The United States has condemned Iran over plans to execute a pastor who refused to renounce Christianity for Islam and called for his sentence to be overturned. » | Thursday, September 29, 2011

Medieval Murder in Modern Times: Woman Faces Death by Beheading in Saudi Arabia for Crime She 'Committed as a Child’
MAIL ON SUNDAY: A young maid is facing death by beheading in Saudi Arabia for a crime she claims she did not commit.

Rizana Nafeek, who alleges she was a teenager at the time of the incident, was arrested in May 2005 on charges of murdering a four-month-old baby who was in her care.

She denies murder and claims she desperately tried to save the child who choked while she was looking after it.

Saudi Arabia have come under fire from Human Rights groups for the handling of her case after it was revealed there had been a mix-up involving the year she was born in.

The authorities have her date of birth as 1982 however her birth certificate states she was born in 1988 - making her 17 at the time of the alleged incident.

If Saudi Arabia went ahead with the execution it would be in breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which it has ratified.

Human Rights groups claim Rizana had no legal representation before or during her trial.

Sri-Lankan born Nafeek's mother Rafeena said her daughter moved to the country so that she could send money home to help educate her three siblings.

Desperate for work she found a job as a domestic worker but was shocked when she was asked to look after a baby, Naif al-Quthaibi, because she believed she did not have the skills to care for him.

Just weeks into her employment tragedy struck and the infant choked while he was being fed.

Rafeena, who lives in a tiny village, has previously begged King Abdullah to pardon her daughter and asked him to allow her to return home.

If the execution goes ahead the now 23-year-old will dressed in a white robe and be marched into a packed town centre.

She will also be blindfolded, shackled and forced to kneel facing Mecca before she is prodded between the shoulders so her head is raised naturally.

Rizana will then be executed, medieval style, with one sweep of a sharply-bladed sword. Read on and comment » | Daily Mail Reporter | Sunday, June 26, 2011

En Irak, Tarek Aziz demande au pouvoir son exécution

LE FIGARO: Condamné à être pendu, l'ancien ministre de Saddam Hussein, très affaibli, ne veut pas mourir en prison.

Âgé de 75 ans, l'ancien ministre des Affaires étrangères de Saddam Hussein souhaite que le gouvernement irakien mette fin à son calvaire. «Mon père ne peut plus bouger ni parler et éprouve de sérieuses difficultés à s'alimenter», explique Ziad, le fils de Tarek Aziz, joint par téléphone à Amman. La famille, qui fait part de ses préoccupations, s'indigne du silence des autorités irakiennes. «Il y a deux semaines, ma mère et ma sœur sont venues à Bagdad pour lui rendre visite, sans succès. Le vice-ministre de la Justice ne répond d'ailleurs plus à nos appels téléphoniques», poursuit l'homme à la voix inquiète.

Plus de trois mois après la confirmation en appel de la peine de mort par pendaison, l'ancien chef de la diplomatie irakienne lance une supplique à la hauteur de son désespoir. L'homme dont l'état de santé se serait sérieusement dégradé ces dernières semaines demande désormais son exécution immédiate, ou sa libération afin d'avoir accès aux soins nécessaires. Une requête maintes fois présentée par les proches de Tarek Aziz. Victime de deux crises cardiaques l'année dernière, il a fait part de son refus de mourir en prison. La demande a cependant toujours été rejetée par le gouvernement chiite de Nouri al-Maliki, bien décidé à effacer toute trace du régime dictatorial. » | Par Fatma Kizilboga | Jeudi 09 Juin 2011

Salafi Groups Pose Challenge for Hamas
YNET NEWS: Despite ruling Gaza Strip with iron fist, Hamas faces growing opposition from extremist Islamic factions that consider its regime 'too liberal.' Latest example is kidnapping, murder of pro-Palestinian Italian activist

The execution of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who was murdered by a radical Islamist group in Gaza early Friday, sheds light on yet another facet of the extremist ideology held by Salafi organizations in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas' security apparatus' quick response following news of the kidnapping, which led to the discovery of the body and several arrests, reiterated their uncompromising struggle against these extremist factions.

So are these small groups that have engaged in an all-out war against the Hamas government in the Strip?

The Salafi groups derive their ideology from global jihad activities, and in particular from al-Qaeda.

Salafism is a fundamentalist Sunni stream of Islam, which calls to return to the origins of the Faith. According to Salafi ideology, Islam was flawless in its original form, and has deteriorated with time.

As such, they advocate a return to the purest form of Islam, practiced back in the days of Prophet Muhammad.

Salafism is often characterized by religious zealotry and intolerance toward the West and the Christian minority in the Gaza Strip. » | Elior Levy | Saturday, April 16, 2011

YNET NEWS: Friends of murdered Italian activist 'devastated' » | Jonathan Fein | Friday, April 15, 2011

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