Authorities carry out the court-ordered amputation of the fingers of a convicted ... more >Iran’s new finger-chopping machine may be touted as a punishment for thieves, but at least one human rights official finds it curious that its unveiling comes at a time when elections dawn and political unrest is high.
“We’re getting quite close to the presidential election [in June],” said Mahmoud Amiry-Moghaddam, a spokesman for Iran Human Rights in Norway, according to a Newser report. “I believe this is a strategy to instill fear in the population so as to avoid any protests.”
Iran has released photographs of the machine in action on a convicted robber and adulterer. Agence France-Presse reported that immediately following the amputation, the nation’s public prosecutor said that sentences against criminals would become increasingly harsh, but he did not explain why.
Islamic law in Iran allows for criminals to be punished with amputation, public whippings and death by stoning, AFP said.
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Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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