Monday 12 April 2010

Sophie Shulman's act of solidarity today

Here is an email message sent today by Humanist Sophie Shulman:

Iran... What comes to mind? Glorious Persian civilization,
intricately sophisticated and gilded like old Persian miniatures...
Incomparable rubaiyats of Omar Khayyam... Shiraz wines and roses...
What happened to your children now, Iran, where are they, your poets,
your calligraphers of our times?
You really want to know? It will be heart-breaking, don't tell you weren't
warned, get braced.

"Saudi Arabia had the highest number of executions per capita [5,8 per million], followed by Iran [4,6 per million] and Libya. China executed at least 470 people, Iran 317, Saudi Arabia 143 and Pakistan 135. Those numbers are only the minimum, as estimated in 2007" (Amnesty International, April 15 and June 15, 2008).

Only three countries in 2007 carried out executions for crimes committed by people under age 18, all Islamic: Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. “The large prayer hall in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison was turned into a gallows and children as young as 13 were hanged six at a time” (Death Sentences and Executions in 2007).
So... now you know.

Sophie Shulman, MD.

No comments:

Post a Comment