IHRNGO: International Community Must Act Immediately to Stop Amputation Sentences of 3 Prisoners in Urmia
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 10, 2025: Mehdi Sharifian, Hadi Rostami and Mehdi Shahivand, three men sentenced to finger amputation for theft, are at imminent risk of having their sentences carried out in Urmia Central Prison.
Given the Islamic Republic’s history of carrying out inhumane punishments such as executions, amputations, and other forms of corporal punishment during times when public and international attention is focused elsewhere, Iran Human Rights warns of the serious risk that these sentences may soon be implemented amid current tensions and negotiations between Iran and the United States. The organisation urges both the people of Iran and the international community to do everything in their power to stop and overturn these medieval punishments.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Director of IHRNGO, said: "The sole purpose of such inhumane punishments is to instil fear in society. The international community must not allow a UN member state to carry out such barbaric, medieval sentences. We call on all countries maintaining diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic to take firm action to stop these amputations.”
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, three men are at imminent risk of having their fingers amputated in Urmia (Darya) Central Prison. Three of them — Mehdi Sharifian, Hadi Rostami, and Mehdi Shahivand — have been sentenced to the amputation of fingers on their right hands for theft.
Documents received by IHRNGO show that Branch 13 of Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the sentence of “amputation of four fingers from the right hand from the base, so that the thumb remains,” despite the defendants’ complaints that their confessions had been extracted under torture.
Due to the lack of transparency within Iran’s judiciary, the exact number of individuals sentenced to amputation across the country remains unknown. However, it is believed that dozens of people in Iran are at risk of this inhumane punishment.
The Islamic Republic has, in some cases, issued and carried out amputation sentences for crimes as minor as stealing five sheep.
Punishments such as amputation and flogging constitute cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and amount to torture under international human rights standards. These practices are strictly prohibited under international law.
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