Majles Rep. Judge Should Have Issued Alternative Sentence for Mashhad Man whose Hand was Amputated
A member of the leadership of the Majles’ legal committee has said that it would have been better for the judge in the case to have taken a cursory look at the defendant’s life, difficulties, and economic problems and opt for a different sentence.
Reacting to news of the punitive amputation of a thief’s hand in Mashhad, Yahi’i Kemalipour told a reporter from Khane-ye Mellat: “Leaving aside the facts that legal process was followed in this case and that the verdict was confirmed by a qualified authority, aspects of this issue might be worth debating, looking into, and reconsidering, given that ours is a country which witnesses the embezzlement of millions, rent-seeking, use of special privileges, and more serious crimes which are orders of magnitude more ruinous.”
The Majles representative from Jiroft and Anbarabad added that “The verdict for the Mashhad thief was definitely issued in accordance with laws and codes, but it would have been better for the judge to take a cursory look at this individual’s life and the people’s difficulties and economic problems and issue a sentence other than hand amputation.”
“It’s been some time since such a sentence was implemented, so international views on this are going to be negative. On another side, the people [of Iran] have not regarded this issue favorably,” Kemalipour added.
The Majles representative emphasized that punishments ought to be deterrent and clarified that: “Punishments are foreseen for the sake of disciplining the accused and preventing crime in society. Unfortunately, the reaction to the news of the hand amputation for the thief in Mashhad has injured public sentiments [e.g. aroused sympathy for the defendant] and will not have a great effect in reducing crime.”
The hand amputation sentence for the 34-year-old thief who confessed to stealing sheep from inhabitants of rural areas in various communities in Khorasan Razavi and South Khorasan was carried out 9 AM yesterday at Mashhad Central Prison.