8 Convicts Facing Finger Amputation in Iran

The Iranian capital Tehran. EPA file photo
The Iranian capital Tehran. EPA file photo
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8 Convicts Facing Finger Amputation in Iran

The Iranian capital Tehran. EPA file photo
The Iranian capital Tehran. EPA file photo

Eight Iranian men convicted of theft are in imminent risk of having their fingers cut off, campaign groups warned on Friday.

All eight men are being held in the Greater Tehran prison waiting for their fingers on one hand to be amputated, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran (ABC) and Amnesty International said in separate statements.

Three of them had been transferred from Orumiyeh prison in northwestern Iran in May specifically for the amputation, AFP quoted them as saying.

According to Amnesty International, the authorities have informed the men that they will be transferred to another prison in the coming days for the sentence to be implemented with a guillotine machine.

All eight were convicted of robbery and sentenced to amputation of their fingers, with the verdict upheld by the supreme court, Amnesty said.

On June 8, all eight were summoned for transfer for the amputation which was postponed for unknown reasons.

In a joint statement with the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), the ABC said it was concerned by "credible reports" that the device had now been installed in a clinic in Tehran's Evin prison and had already been used for at least one amputation in recent days.

"Carrying out such a cruel and inhuman punishment violates the minimum standards of humanity and decency," said ABC executive director Roya Boroumand.

"The international community can and should react urgently to stop the implementation of these amputations," she added.

The ABC said it had collected reports on at least 356 sentences of amputation issued since the Iranian revolution in 1979, but added the real number is believed to be much higher.



Türkiye Says 5 Soldiers Killed by Methane Gas during Cave Search in Northern Iraq

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)
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Türkiye Says 5 Soldiers Killed by Methane Gas during Cave Search in Northern Iraq

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)

Five Turkish soldiers have died after exposure to methane gas on Sunday while searching a cave in northern Iraq for the remains of a fellow soldier killed by Kurdish militants in 2022, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

Soldiers were searching a mountain cave when 19 of them were exposed to the gas, which is colorless, odorless, flammable and can cause asphyxiation in sufficient concentration.

“They were immediately transported to the hospital (but) despite all interventions, five heroic personnel were martyred,” the ministry said in a statement, The AP news reported. “Rescue operations in the area continue.”

The ministry did not give a specific location for the incident other than the “Claw-Lock Operation region,” a reference to an operation launched against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in north Iraq in April 2022.

The Turkish unit affected by methane gas was searching for the remains of an infantry officer killed by “terrorist gunfire” during a search-and-clear operation in May 2022, the ministry said. For the last three years, teams have been hunting for his remains.

The cave was at an altitude of 852 meters (2,795 foot) and was known to have been used as a hospital by the PKK in the past, although it had since been cleared by Turkish soldiers.

The office of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the soldiers were “exposed to a high concentration of accumulated methane gas.”

Türkiye and the PKK have waged a 40-year conflict which has often spilled over into Iraq and Syria. Türkiye has set up a series of bases in northern Iraq, where the PKK has been established for decades.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye and most of the West, announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye.

Its fighters are expected to begin handing over their weapons over the next few days in the first concrete move toward disarmament.