More than two-thirds of the countries of the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. While 58 countries retain the death penalty, most do not use. This is not the case for the Islamic Republic, which not only retains the death penalty, but also employs the most barbaric forms. More than 600 people are currently on death row for political crimes.
This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is done in the name of justice and religion in order to quash political dissent. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and indeed is the ultimate denial of human rights.
Today, in honor of the World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10th, 2010, I stand with my compatriots who face the ultimate denial of human rights and I encourage the world to maintain pressure on the current regime in Iran to abandon this barbaric practice.
