Iran sentences eight men to have fingers CHOPPED OFF with spinning guillotine machine in ‘inhuman’ punishment for theft
IRAN has sentenced eight men to have their fingers chopped off with a spinning guillotine machine, according to human rights groups.
The Islamic Republic is known for its brutal punishments and sadistic executions which have been decried by campaigners as "inhuman".
Eight men are reportedly awaiting to have their fingers chopped off after they were sentenced for stealing at Greater Tehran Prison.
Three of them had been transferred from another prison specifically so they could have their amputations in Tehran.
And all eight are due for transfer to the brutal Evin Prison, which has a reputation as one of the world's most cruel jails.
The men are due to have their digits sliced off by a spinning guillotine-like device often used by the vicious state.
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Pictures previously shown in Iranian state media show men being blindfolded and strapped to a mechanical device.
Torturers in black masks and black uniforms then force the victim to feed their hand into the thrashing machine.
It appears to be driven by a large spinning wheel as the blade comes down to chop off the victim's fingers.
The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran (ABC) and Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) revealed the imminent amputations.
And they condemned the brutal punishment as they pointed out many of the men have been detained for weeks already - suffering beatings and torture.
Carrying out such a cruel and inhuman punishment violates the minimum standards of humanity and decency
Roya Boroumand
Iran's justice system is vicious and has been accused of relying threats and physical harm to extract false confessions.
Four of the men awaiting the finger amputation have been identified as Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Shahivand, Yaqoub Fazeli and Mehdi Sharafian.
Rostami, Shahivand, and Sharafian were reportedly subjected to one month of interrogation.
And during this period they were kicked, beaten, flogged with a cable, and hung from their wrists and feet.
The men were denied access to lawyers and forced to confess.
Mr Rostami claims he was made to sign a blank piece of paper on which prosecutors then wrote down a random list of theft cases.
And he reportedly has attempted suicide twice to escape the amputation - which as well as being painful and debilitating, carries a heavy social stigma in Iran.
Roya Boroumand, executive director of ABC, said: "f the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to conduct amputations four decades after the punishment was introduced in the country’s law, it is because the political cost for such blatant disregard for universal human rights norms has been negligible.
"Carrying out such a cruel and inhuman punishment violates the minimum standards of humanity and decency, let alone in a country where the use of torture to coerce confessions is systemic and economic crisis and inflation are rampant."
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She added: "Risking retaliation and punishment, activists, lawyers, journalists, families, and prisoners themselves have tried to bring visibility to arbitrary, cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishments such as amputation.
"The international community can and should react urgently to stop the implementation of these amputations. It should also hold Iran accountable for not removing corporal punishments from its laws by increasing their visibility and their political cost."
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