An Iranian woman was executed by her own daughter under barbaric death penalty laws, reports claim.
Maryam Karimi was hanged for killing her abusive husband with the help of her father.
She was executed at Rasht Central Prison on March 13, after serving 13 years behind bars.
Maryam’s daughter, who was six when she killed her husband, took part in the execution after reportedly refusing to forgive her or accept “Diya” (blood money), according to Iran International TV.
Maryam was charged with “retribution in kind”, which is known in Iran as “Qisas” – a form of “an eye for an eye” retribution.
Qisas requires the victim’s next of kin to be present at the execution and they are actively encouraged to carry out the execution themselves.
A source told Iran Human Rights: “Maryam’s daughter was six years old when the murder took place and has been in the care of her father’s family.
“For the past 13 years, they had told her that both her parents were dead, but had to tell her the truth a few weeks prior to the execution to prepare her psychologically.”
‘INHUMANE AND CRUEL’
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of campaign group, Iran Human Rights, said: “The Islamic Republic laws make a girl whose father was murdered when she was a child, the executioner of her own mother.
“The Islamic Republic is the leading promoter of violence in Iranian society today.”
Following the execution, it is reported that Maryam’s father Ebrahim was brought in by authorities to see her corpse hanging.
However, for unknown reasons the death penalty was not handed down to him.
Activist and journalist at Iran International TV, Aram Bolandpaz said: “Four decades of brain-washing at schools, extreme punishments in Iranian society and a patriarchal regime mean that Maryam’s daughter was raised to make sure that executing her mother was a victory for a man, whether that be for her father or for the oppressive regime.
“Qisas is inhumane, savage, and cruel, no matter where in the world.
“For a country which prioritises the rights of unborn babies and emphasises that life is the most valuable phenomenon, how can the Islamic Republic seize a life from someone in such an awful way.”
The continued use of Qisas in Iran has caused uproar with human rights campaigners.
But the Qisas death sentence was retained for murder in the Iranian Islamic Penal Code in 2019.
Qisas are also in use for juvenile offenders, whilst Sharia law defines the age of criminal responsibility for girls to be nine-years-old, and 15 for boys.
In 2019, 225 executions were carried out as Qisas, reports Iran International TV.
There was 68 being carried out in one prison alone, and four of these executions involving individuals who were juveniles at the time of the offence.
As a plaintiff in Qisas cases, the responsibility of carrying out the execution and the decision on whether the accused should be executed is theirs to make.
But this has been recognised as causing severe psychological distress to plaintiffs and can have long-term psychological consequences.
The use of Qisas has previously sparked calls from the UN over the retribution execution of Navid Afkari the Iranian champion wrestler in 2020.
The UN stated: “It is deeply disturbing that the authorities appear to have used the death penalty against an athlete as a warning to a population in a climate of increasing social unrest”.
Source » thesun