Please join us on Saturday, September 20, at 9:30 PDT, 10:30 CST, 12:30 EDT, 1:30 ADT for the seventh webinar in this ongoing series on the abolition of the death penalty. This series is sponsored by Amnesty International Canada, Carleton University’s Youth & Justice Lab, The Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa, The Canadian International Council (Saskatchewan Branch), The Mardom Foundation, The Paivand Society and the campaign United Against Executions in Iran.
This session will explore the workings of the Islamic legal system as it is practised in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and elsewhere.
We will learn about Iran’s Penal Code:
About Qisas crimes such as intentional murder and causing physical harm, deserving of ‘like’ punishments – retribution, ‘an eye for an eye’ – for which the victim’s family has priority in setting the sentence and carrying it out.
About Hudud crimes such as apostasy, revolt against the ruler, theft, highway robbery, adultery, slander, drinking alcohol, sedition, ‘corruption on earth’. According to some interpretations of the Quran, these are crimes against God and are therefore unforgivable. Cases are tried by inquisitorial judges, sometimes in ‘ordinary’ courts, sometimes in ‘Revolutionary’ courts. Punishments may be prison sentences, amputations, death. It depends.
Qisas and Hudud crimes are often ambiguous, which opens them to interpretation and suitably opaque legal processes: arrest without charge, detention without access to lawyers or family, and treatment while in custody designed to compel confessions. Trials are by judge alone, conducted behind closed doors, lasting as little as fifteen minutes. The evidence of a crime is often only what is contained in the forced confession. Trials are often driven by political motive. Their outcomes are often pre-determined. Appeals are often denied. Those that are not denied are often rejected by a higher court.
We will also hear about the debates within Shari’a and Sunni legal scholarship regarding the legitimacy of capital punishment. Some Shia scholars argue that capital punishment is not permissible in the absence of an ‘Infallible Imam’. Some Sunni thinkers maintain that the death penalty is against ‘Maslahah Mursalah’, the idea of giving priority to the general good and welfare of humanity in a changing world.
Our panelists will provide a framework for the abolition of the death penalty in the Islamic world.
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Our Webinar Panelists and Moderator
(Note: Two of three presenters have been confirmed. A third will be announced ahead of September 20.)
Hossein Raeesi is an Iranian lawyer with 20 years spent defending high profile cases of women, minorities, students and children at risk of execution. He is the founder and former head of the ‘Human Rights Committee of the Fars Province Bar Association’ and ‘The Voice of Justice Legal Association’ in Shiraz. This sort of work brings increasing scrutiny by the authorities. He came to Canada where he is teaching and researching at Carleton University and advising the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Amnesty International.
Dr Sedigheh Vasmaghi is an Iranian lawyer, theologian, teacher of Islamic jurisprudence, and poet. Her first poetry collection, Praying for Rain received the 1991 Best Book Award from the University of Al-Zahra, Tehran. She now has six collections of poetry, several academic books, as well as having translated classical Arabic poetry into Persian.
Our moderator Samira Mohyeddin has a Master of Arts in Modern Middle Eastern History and Gender from the University of Toronto and Genocide Studies from the Zoryan Institute. She is the inaugural 2024 / 2025 Journalism Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Women and Gender Studies Institute. Samira is an award-winning journalist and producer. For nearly ten years she was a producer and host at CBC Radio and CBC Podcasts. She resigned in November of 2023 and founded ‘On The Line Media’.
Upcoming webinars in this series on the abolition of the death penalty
Towards the Abolition of the Death Penalty is a virtual panel discussion series that will tackle the complex question of the death penalty with a view to its abolition in retentionist states, particularly in the contemporary context of the Middle East, in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. The panel series will provide in-depth discussions on the death penalty from diverse legal, philosophical, sociological, psychological, and political perspectives. The speakers will address and put in context current instances of the death penalty, exploring the dynamics involved in this criminal sanction. The series aims to create a dialogical platform for everyone interested in engaging with the abolitionist discourse to discuss the possibilities and challenges to put an end to the death penalty. Each session will introduce the audience to significant aspects of capital punishment, expounding theoretical and practical particularities of the sanction.
October 11 – Session 8, Children, Trauma and the Death Penalty
Judy Finlay, Child Welfare and Children’s Mental Health advocate, Toronto Metropolitan University
Hossein Raeesi, Iranian lawyer, defended death penalty cases in Shiraz for 20 years, Adjunct Professor, Carleton University
Sandra Joy, Professor of Sociology, studies impact of death penalty on families, Rowan University
November 8 – Session 9, Sociological Perspectives
Hosein Ghazian, Iranian Sociologist, Theorist, Commentator, Researcher, Author, Photographer
Saeed Paivandi, Professor of Education, University of Lorraine
December 10 – Session 10, Non-Violence and Forgiveness (Human Rights Day)
Payam Akhavan, Massey Chair in Human Rights, human rights lawyer, University of Toronto
Ramin Jahanbegloo, Director of ‘Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, New Delhi, Visiting Professor, St. Andrews University
Omid Milani, Fellow, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, Artist, University of Ottawa
Note: dates and speakers subject to change
Poster & Artwork Design © Omid Milani
