[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 30



IRAN:

Iranian death sentence commuted to 2 years' theology study ---- Soheil Arabi 
ordered to read 13 religious books and serve 90 days in prison after court 
annuls original sentence


An Iranian man who was on death row for allegedly insulting the prophet 
Muhammad has had his sentence commuted to reading 13 religious books and 
studying theology for 2 years.

Soheil Arabi, 31, was arrested by members of the Iranian revolutionary guards 
in November 2013 in connection with Facebook postings which the Iranian 
judiciary deemed insulting to the founder of Islam. He was convicted of 
blasphemy and sentenced to death.

A higher court annulled his death penalty, and his new sentence, which includes 
a 90-day jail term, emerged this week. Arabi will not be coming out of prison 
time any time soon, as he is also serving a separate 7 1/2-year sentence for 
allegedly insulting the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside 
similar charges.

The commuting of Arabi's death sentence is the 1st such decision to have been 
taken by a judiciary court in Iran. It is not clear how many people are on 
death row in the country for blasphemy, heresy or other religious grounds. Last 
year a 37-year-old man was executed after being found guilty of insulting the 
prophet Jonah, making "innovations in the religion" and "spreading corruption 
on earth". He had interpreted Jonah's story in the Qur'an as a symbolic tale.

The state-owned Jamejam newspaper said Arabi was required to prepare a 
5-10-page summary of each of the 13 religious books he must read. He then has 
to write an article about religion and reference at least 5 -10 of those books. 
He should study theology for 2 years and report to the authorities every 3 
months on his progress.

Amnesty welcomed the development but said Arabi should not have been jailed in 
the first place. Nassim Papayiann, Amnesty's campaigner on Iran, said: 
"International law clearly protects the right to criticise political leaders 
and religious institutions, even if the criticisms are thought to be shocking 
or offensive. A sentence that requires an individual to serve time in prison, 
study theology and read certain books as a punishment, if handed down for 
peacefully exercised their freedom of expression, clearly tramples over a range 
of rights, including the right to freedom of belief."

Amnesty has raised alarms in recent years about Iran's ongoing crackdown on 
internet users, especially those active on Facebook. "The increasing, and 
sometimes creative, ways in which the Iranian authorities are cracking down on 
freedom of expression, particularly on social media, is truly alarming and goes 
counter to the fundamental principles of human rights," Papayianni said.

Iran's judiciary, dominated by hardliners, operates independently of President 
Hassan Rouhani's government and is at times at odds with the administration's 
drive for more social freedoms. Some analysts believe that the judiciary is 
tightening its grip to send a signal that it is will resist Rouhani's repeated 
calls for reform. Rouhani, meanwhile, has largely remained quiet about human 
rights violations in the country.

(source: The Guardian)