Justice – Iranian Islamic style

A judge in Iran can just decide a person is guilty if there isn’t enough evidence to convict him.

At least this seems to be the case with 18-year-old Emrahim Hamidi, who is accused of the heinous life-threatening crime of sodomy. This chap faces execution. Well, he deserves it, obviously. Even being suspected of such a disgraceful act of this utter depravity deserves the ultimate punishment. A judge says so. It’s got to be true.

Hamidi was convicted on the strength of something called “judge’s knowledge”, which is some kind of legal loophole that allows for subjective rulings. This is the sort of “justice” you expect in a Kafka story, not a twenty-first-century state. Oh, but it’s an Islamic state. Mustn’t forget that. “Justice” is meted out by nutcases who believe in creationism and sky fairies and all kinds of hogwash and baloney and like to run their state in accordance therewith.

Add to this that the alleged victim of this “crime” has said he was coerced into making the accusation by his parents, and Hamidi is said to have confessed under torture. You know, when you want something to stop badly enough that you’ll say your mother was a monkey and your father was a giraffe. Bound to get the truth out of a person, that kind of thing, innit? Sort of thing Christians used to do to each other with the Inquisition. You know, Christians, love your neighbour and all that.

Anyway, Iain Stewart (pictured), Conservative MP for Milton Keynes South in England, has now called on the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, to ask the Iranian authorities to halt the execution.

Openly gay Stewart is also the deputy chairman of Conservative LGBT group, LGBTory, and he’s quoted in the link above as saying, “It is an outrage that this young man faces execution. In the first place it is utterly abhorrent that homosexual acts are illegal and carry draconian penalties in Iran. That, plus the fact that there is considerable doubt as to whether the event actually took place, makes it unthinkable that Ebrahim should lose his life.

“I am calling on the Foreign Office to do whatever it can to exert diplomatic pressure on Iran to show some human compassion and free this young man, or at very least commute the death penalty. In the meantime, my heart goes out to Ebrahim and his family at this dreadful time”.

And Matthew Sephton, chairman of LGBTory, said, ”This is a dreadful state of affairs.  I am horrified that, in this day and age, there are still so many countries were homosexuality is illegal and have penalties including life imprisonment and even execution in some cases . . . I just hope that Mr Hague is able to speak to the Iranian Government and that Ebrahim is saved from such barbaric treatment from his own country.”