In all schools of thought and in all religions there is punishment and punishment is not a form of violence ... Punishment is seen as a response to violence or deviance in society and if there is no punishment in a society a society cannot run effectively ... In regards to the fact that is capital punishment a fair reaction to crime this is an issue that has been debated extensively in legal circles and even some states in the United States still maintain capital punishment and even some other countries in the world so the issue of capital punishment is still being largely debated ... As an expert of Islamic sciences I tell you that capital punishment is accepted in Islam, but it has conditions that are so stringent that executions should almost never happen. If in fact they are happening in Islamic countries it is because, if it happens excessively in Islamic countries it is a problem of bringing those religious rulings into practice ... In regards to the issue of gay people as well as the issue of adultery, the conditions that are required for capital punishment are so strict that it is virtually impossible to meet ... Of course this is my opinion and a lot of people don’t accept my opinion, but I was asked for my opinion so this is what I believe ... In many Islamic countries homosexual relationships as well as non-consensual heterosexual relationships have been punishable ... There are also others, there are others in the world that have similar views namely important sects of Christianity ... So yes you are correct homosexual activity is a crime in Islam ... And crimes are punishable ... The fact that could crimes be punished by execution is debatable ... And that we must differentiate between punishment and violence."

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami could face police questioning when he enters the UK this week to accept an honorary degree from St. Andrews University.

The Metropolitan Police told The Sunday Times paper they may question the former leader over complaints by two Iranians now living in London who claim they were tortured by his regime.

Safa Einollahi, 29, and Ali Ebrahimi, 34 claim they were tortured and falsely imprisoned while Mr Khatami was in power because they had protested against the government.

Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Iain Blair, and the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, turned down requests for Khatami's arrest. The police were presented with affidavits by two Iranian refugees who say they were falsely imprisoned and brutally tortured while Khatami was in office. Safa Einollahi, 29, and Ali Ebrahimi, 34, claim that, as President, Khatami was ultimately responsible for their torture. He failed to use his office of state to protect them and thousands of other torture victims.

Einollahi and Ebrahimi had applied to the Met Police to have Khatami arrested under Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1998. This requires the arrest of any individual, regardless of nationality, where there is evidence that they committed, condoned or colluded with acts of torture. The legislation has a universal jurisdiction, and therefore covers torture committed by Iranians against Iranians in Iran.

Section 134, which incorporates the UN Convention Against Torture 1984 into UK law, also holds high state officials responsible if they fail to stop torture. There is no evidence that Khatami made any attempt to halt the use of torture by Iran's security agents, which makes him culpable under Section 134.

Despite the compelling prima facie evidence in Einollahi's and Ebrahimi's affidavits, Sir Ian Blair and Lord Goldsmith have pre-empted any judicial consideration of the case against Khatami. They have not only vetoed his arrest, but the police have refused point blank to even question Khatami about the allegations.

What is the point of having human rights laws if people accused of serious crimes like torture are never even questioned by the police, let alone bought before a judge to have the evidence against them assessed?

An Iranian man convicted of sodomy was publicly hanged in the western town of Kermanshah, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The man, identified as Shahab Darvishi, was charged for "corruption, battering and sodomy". The public hanging drew hundreds of cheering people.

The execution brings to at least 117 the number of people executed in Iran this year.

Amnesty International has said there were 94 executions in Iran in 2005.

It is not clear why the Iranian government chose to make public the charge of "sodomy" against Darvishi. Since the world-wide protests over the hanging of two gay teenagers in the city of Mashad on July 19 2005, the Iranian government has refrained from announcing executions for homosexual acts, which are a capital crime under Iranian law. On the first anniversary of the hanging of the two boys in Mashad this year, world-wide vigils and demonstrations were held in 29 cities around the world, from Mexico City and Moscow to London and Warsaw, including in eight American cities.

Underground gay activists in Iran, like the editors of the clandestine Persian-language gay 'zine MAHA, have previously told this reporter that executions of homosexuals have taken place in secret since the hangings of the two lads in Mashad.

In conversations this reporter had with PGLO activists, human rights group staffers, and Iranian scholars, speculation was rife as to the possible motive of the government in making public the "sodomy" charge against Darvishi. "It could have been to excite public approval of the execution and draw a large crowd, since homosexuality is detested by very religious Iranians," Parsi told me. Others speculated that the "sodomy" charge might have been tacked on to the other criminal charges in the hopes of dividing public opinion in the West, or that the government hoped to draw protests by the international LGBT community that could then be discredited inside Iran because of Darvishi's alleged criminal record, to the detriment of the cause of oppressed gay Iranians.

Iran Executed another person for same-sex relationship

Translated by: H. A., IGLHRC

This just came in from Iran's state-run News Agency, IRNA: www.irna.com

A Delinquent Person was Executed in Kermanshah

IRNA: Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006 Shahab Darvishsi, a delinquent person was executed in the Azadi Square of Kermanshah on Tuesday evening.According to the Communications Department of the Justice Department of the Kermanshah Province, the above-mentioned was found guilty [ by the court of law] of forming a coterie of corruption rings, physical assaults , and the despicable act of sodomy.

According to this report, his death sentence was issued by the Second Court of the town of Sahneh. The verdict was upheld by the Second Appeal Court of Kermanshah and the Twenty Seventh Branch of the Supreme Court.

Hundreds of Kermanshah's residents were present at the scene of the execution. They were supportive of the Judicial System's decision and called for adopting a tough stance against criminals and disturbing elements.

(New York City) At least 16 of the 17 men arrested on May 10 at a private party in the central Iranian province of Esfahan have now been released Amnesty International said on Thursday.

Twelve were reportedly released in the weeks following their arrest while four of the remaining five were released on May 29 the rights group said.

All of these men were required to post bail and will reportedly face a trial scheduled to take place in June. There are conflicting reports as to whether the fifth man has been released.

They were among 87 people reportedly arrested at the party. Of these, 60 have been released unconditionally, while 26, including those referred to above, were released on bail, amnesty said.

[...]

During the arrests, those attending the party were said to have been dragged into the street by police and members of the Basij force (volunteer paramilitary units attached to the Revolutionary Guards Corps), who beat them severely, causing bruising and, in some cases, broken bones. It remains unclear if those detained were allowed access to medical treatment.

Amnesty said it will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Tehran - Iran on Monday shut down a leading moderate daily for the second time in less than a year after the paper published an interview with a woman accused of being a "counter-revolutionary" homosexual.

The ban on Shargh (East), the favourite newspaper of Iranian liberals, comes amid growing pressure on the press in Iran and follows the closure of fellow moderate daily Ham Mihan last month.

"The main reason for the ban was an interview with a counter-revolutionary who promotes immorality," Alireza Malekian, the director of press in the culture ministry, told the state-run IRNA news agency.

Shargh on Saturday published a full-page interview with Saghi Ghahreman, an expatriate Iranian poet who lives in Canada, under the headline "Feminine Language."