Femicide in Iran: Unequal Law, Violent Structures, and the Cycle of Impunity / Maryam Hosseini

Femicide in Iran is a crisis phenomenon that reflects deep gender inequalities, legal gaps, and a culture of male dominance. The increase in the number of women being murdered, along with the absence of a strong legal framework that specifically addresses the killing of women based on gender, has raised concerns that some of these […]...

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Naser Ghavami: Most Executions Are the Result of Pressure from Governing Institutions on Judges/ Ali Kalaei

With the increasing implementation of public executions in Iran, debates around this form of punishment have intensified. Supporters consider it a necessary tool for deterrence and public example, while critics emphasize its contradiction with the principle of human dignity, human rights standards, and its harmful psychological and social consequences. In this context, Peace Mark Monthly […]...

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Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei: The Default Rule is the Prohibition of Public Punishment / Pedram Tahsini

Seyed Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, a licensed attorney, political activist, and member of the board of directors of the Central Bar Association, was also a representative in the first term of the Islamic City Council of Tehran (1997–2001). He has represented many Iranian political figures and senior officials, particularly those affiliated with the reformist movement, including […]...

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From Execution Square to the Square of Distrust/ Majid Shia’Ali

After several decades of failure in economic development, democratization, and the strengthening of human rights observance, our society is now looking back at its previous experiences. Our society sees that despite experimenting with various revolutionary and reformist strategies, from parliamentary methods to violent confrontations, and experiencing multiple revolutions and social movements, it has still not […]...

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Selfie with Death: A Question/ Pooya Moheb

On a cold morning, the city square is filled with people. A large crane stands in the middle of the square. The rope hanging from the crane sways in the wind. Everyone is in a hurry to find a good spot to watch. A mother gives her child a chocolate to calm them down. Above, […]...

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The Voice of Science Against the Voice of Violence/ Morteza Hamounian

The issue of capital punishment has always been a highly contentious matter in Iran. This punishment has been enforced by governments both before and after the February 1979 Revolution, and has consistently been the subject of criticism. At its core, the death penalty is a form of state-sanctioned killing—an act of violence inflicted upon the […]...

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Humiliation as Part of Punishment: The Violation of Human Dignity Through Public Executions/ Alireza Goodarzi

Let us begin by distinguishing between a criminal, a suspect, and anyone else outside these categories. A person living in society may come under legal suspicion of having committed a crime. From that moment on, this individual is referred to as a “suspect.” Once the accusation is proven in a competent court, with all legal […]...

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Those Who Love Death/ Arash Mohammadi

I.I was a child—perhaps ten years old. I can’t recall my exact age, but I vividly remember walking past the Baqi Cemetery when I heard a scream. A man and a woman were about to be stoned to death. Out of curiosity, I stopped to watch. The problem was that although a large crowd had […]...

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The Psychological Impact of Witnessing Public Executions on Children and Adolescents/ Mahtab Alinejad

On a cold winter morning, in the heavy silence of a city square, a crowd gathers to witness the public execution of a condemned individual. The murmurs of the crowd and the hurried steps of the guards ripple through the air. A 4- or 5-year-old child, puffed corn snack in hand, stands next to his […]...

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Killing Innocence at Dawn: A Public Execution/ Fereshteh Goli

As the sharp, cold morning wind swept autumn leaves across the cobbled alleyways of the city, a dense, silent crowd had gathered in the main square. Their breath turned into small clouds in the freezing air, merging into one another. Among the crowd stood women whose eyes reflected waves of fear, worry, and anxiety, and […]...

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A Look at the Role of Qisas in Murder Cases and the Distinction Between Justice and Revenge/ Sina Yousefi

In the legal system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, qisas (retaliatory justice) is not only prominently featured in Book Three of the Islamic Penal Code (2013), but its procedural structure and associated privileges are also legally codified. These include defining the scope of cases eligible for qisas, conditions for the equivalence of the weapon […]...

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Law or Verdict? A Criminal Law Critique of Public Executions/ Mohammad-Hadi Jafarpoor

According to the rule of law, the necessity of implementing and enforcing laws is essential to the life of a social system. Even thieves and murderers believe in the necessity of enforcing the law and respecting legal rulings, and it is precisely because of this awareness that they feel fear and anxiety when committing a […]...

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