In Iran, convicted thieves had their fingers amputated (4 photos)

Three men were given harsh punishments in Urmia Prison in northwestern Iran's West Azerbaijan Province on Thursday. The criminals, described as "professional thieves," were arrested between August 2017 and November 2019. The court sentenced them to have four fingers on their right hands amputated.





The convicts committed more than 40 thefts in four provinces of Iran.

“Three professional thieves who committed numerous thefts have been executed in West Azerbaijan Province,” the Mizan judicial authority’s website reported.



Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the harsh sentences because the criminals failed to cooperate and return the stolen property. Returning the items, especially gold jewelry, could have resulted in a lighter sentence.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Sarah Khashas said the men had confessed under torture and during unfair trials. Her words were confirmed by the Iranian Human Rights Network (IHRNGO).

“This is a chilling reminder of the Iranian authorities’ willingness to inflict irreversible suffering and the country’s judicial system that encourages atrocities,” Khashas said.



The three prisoners have been on repeated hunger strikes to protest their brutal conditions and unfair sentences.

IHRNGO Director Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam said: “The international community should not tolerate medieval and degrading sentences like finger amputations in the 21st century.”



A Sharia-based penal code was adopted in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It provides for amputation of limbs as a punishment for certain offenses.

According to the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, Iranian authorities have amputated the fingers of at least 131 men since January 2000.