The Iranian Government has sentenced Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian-born web programmer living in Canada until his 2008 arrest, developed software for uploading images online, to death
According to AFP reports, the programmer, who was arrested by Iranian police when he entered the country to visit his terminally ill father, was sentenced to death in December 2010, but this was annulled after the Canadian Government stepped in to oppose the verdict.
According to civil liberties activist website, United For Iran, charges levied against the programmer include “Taking action against national security by designing and moderating adult content websites”; “Agitation against the regime”; “Contact with foreign entities”; “Insulting the sanctity of Islam” and “Insulting the Supreme Leader and President”. The site also claims that Malekpour was charged with the crime of Mofsed fel-Arz, or spreading corruption on Earth, a crime punishable by death.
After his 2008 arrest, Malekpour was allegedly held in solitary confinement for over a year where he was tortured into confessing to running porn sites. According to the Guardian, he later retracted his confession in a letter where he wrote “A large portion of my confession was extracted under pressure, physical and psychological torture, threats to myself and my family, and false promises of immediate release upon giving a false confession to whatever the interrogators dictated.”
“Once in October 2008,” he continued, “The interrogators stripped me while I was blindfolded and threatened to rape me with a bottle of water. While I remained blindfolded and handcuffed, several individuals armed with cables, batons, and their fists struck and punched me. At times, they would flog my head and neck. Such mistreatment was aimed at forcing me to write what the interrogators were dictating, and to compel me to play a role in front of the camera based on their scenarios.”
Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Ann Harrison said that the court’s decision comes as the regime is cracking down on bloggers and other Internet users. “By confirming Saeed Malekpour’s death sentence after an unfair trial, the Iranian authorities are sending a message to Iranians not to freely express their views, or even to help others to do so, including on the Internet,” Harrison said.
“The Supreme Court should have investigated the reports of Saeed Malekpour’s torture instead of confirming his sentence. If he is held solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, he should be released immediately and unconditionally” she added.
“The government has officially acknowledged executing at least 31 people already this year, although Amnesty International has received information suggesting at least another 22 people were put to death. This would bring the total number of executions for 2012 to 53 people. Five of those executions were carried out in public,” said the watchdog in its statement, adding that more than 600 people were put to death in Iran throughout 2011.
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Many, many people are killed by the various states within the USA. State execution is very acceptable to most Americans. Why should this person's death be any different? He broke the law and the penalty is execution.
Personally, I think it's wrong.
He didn't break the law!
Capital punishment is inhumane and needs to be outlawed.
But a lot of the comments on here are very hysterical and based more on xenophobia rather than rational thought.
My view is that the programmer should be released immediately.
However, Iran is a sovereign nation and free to legislate as it wishes. The USA uses unmanned frones to carry out extrajudicial murders of people who pilitically disagree with it. It uses the pretext of the bogus war on terror, but perpetuates terror itself by targetting innocent people who are not able to retaliate. It and its citizens have as a consequence lost the moral right to criticise others for executing people. At least this programmer had a trial. The drone targets do not even get that.
Of course a lot of inflammatory and emotive language is used such as calling Iran backward and barbaric none of which really furthers the argument against capital punishment.
Whether you agree with it or not, he broke Iranian law.
Who is this fucking cunt? Obviously hasn't read the article.
This law is an joke and you no it mate especially laws that come under the religious banner this is so backward of modern society and a waste of a young life was'nt like he murdered anyone :(
I think a normal person would not have had as many spelling and grammatical mistakes as you. "Normal"???? I don't think so!
Poor attempt to undermine someone's point. Trying to act as spelling police on the comments section of a website is not "normal", it's pathetic
something must be very wrong with you! this is not a discussion on the death penalty. This is about the reasons this chap has been condemned. Do you really want to compare the US justice with the infamous Iranian one where homosexuals, including adolescent are hanged,women are stoned and the opposition is brutally persecuted. Or in other words, if you were accused of this particular offense or any other, where would you prefer the Court to be, Teheran or Washington?!! Come's, be decent for a change
Those that are State Executed in USA are because they have committed crimes against other people, usualy murder & rape. How can you even compare Saeeds "crime" to these? What law did he break? And people wonder why the Western world has no faith or trust in the Eastern Governments.
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What will the U.S do to J.Assange if they manage to extradite him to the U.S for exposing the truth ?
@bydel i must say you are a little stupid IMO. Typical to turn this on the US who execute people for child murder or multiple murder etc.. come on play the game..
Idiot springs to mind @bydel
Del I think you need a brain scan to have come up with a comment like that!
What will be - will be,
main cause for hate to others is religion or religious believes (one religion hates another - not the people)
Therefore Most Religions cuase destruction, Death & wars.
Howeever Death is required - Law of Nature
& This world is over populated
if you get angry with people comments then your religion is not working , or you need help?
Years & years ago there was no Tv but Deaths of all sizes still happened.
The Difference,well, the world has gone soft & the people have too much power.
to sum it up - Lifes a bitch, then you die (Get over it)
Remove all religions & life would 100% get easier ( never going too happen) a big shame
Motherworld...
So they do not like porn? They should sentence themselves to death, Fair is fair, If they are so religious and pure why are they sticking bottles up prisoners arses to gain confessions, Sound more pervy than people who i suppose do it for fun?, Religion is supposed to be about god, whatever God is the same god for everyone, The people who think they can judge for him for thier own ends using torture, If it is not too serious god will punish, an eye for an eye is right but who did this man kill? Law is Law but religion is religion, God gives us life to learn and prophets are sent to teach Gods will, they did not go round preaching how to kill or what for, they teach, How can someone learn if they are dead. These religious leaders should read the ten commandments Ect, If they do they will be more worried than most about going to hell, Or do they not really believe god in all his wisdom is serious and gave them licence to kill, We are human and have the power to decide what is right or wrong and what punishment is required for what crime, He gave live to us individually not collectively, You cannot kill someone to teach another, This is blaspheming, they are giving themselves the right to murder, Just using religion to right wrongs
This man has NOT committed any crime, yet he has been sentenced to death as a human sacrifice, practiced by Islam. No doubt by this human sacrifice, the executioners will feel justified of their own sin! Iran is now one of the top three countries in the world, practicing Human Sacrifice. The blood they are shedding will reach to Heaven and God will avenge it and those involved in these executions.
Also, if it is a crime to make a piece of software to transport data (which is essentially what he made), then it is also a crime to make a gun, nuclear material and yes, even a hangman's noose...since all of these can be used for evil, just like the software this man made was alleged to have been used for evil by someone without hi knowledge!
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Iranian logic is up the spout on this. He's being sentenced because he wrote a piece of software that was used by someone to post porn... Surely then, the fault must be either the creators of the internet and even more, the state telecom for transmitting the porn on their internet. Or maybe the writers of the software that the telecom software runs on, or the operators who operate the telecoms industry and their probably, SINGLE ISP provider. Clearly this is being done out of spite and Iran thinks it can flex its muscles with this when in fact, it has, or will be scoring a very fatal own goal. A very sad day in Iranian public relations and the West didn't need to do anything.
'bydel' is absolutely spot on and the rest of you are idiots frankly.
'bydel' didn't say it was fair or just that Saeed has been sentenced to death. You all seem hung up on whether what he is alledged to have done is illegal by American standards (typical) and whether the death sentence is justified by this.
What 'bydel' is saying is that most Amercicans don't have a problem with the death penanly in their own country, so what gives you the right to tell anogher country what they can do with regards to the death penalty?
Personally I don't believe someone should be sentenced to death if thwy are convicted of murder, but a lot of Americans believe that is jusst - personally I feel it is barbaric.
What all you morons seem to be saying that the death penalty is right so long as it's being used correctly and that's just plain dumb.
@bydel
Typical Muslim response.
Indeed, some murderers in the USA have been executed over the last few years. For you to compare this with the Iranian execution, torture and lengthily imprisonment of homosexual people, alleged adulterers, sorcerers, blasphemers, pornographers and opponents of the government and sharia is crass, childish, uninformed twaddle.
Bydel; Dont be so stupid, it is people like you that have the world in the mess that its in. Religion is now being used as an excuse for violence!
The person who uploaded the video or image committed the crime. Not one deserved of death!!
Religion has *always* been used for cromes - extortions, killing, robbing, manipulation and subordination. And it is still used for that, everywhere.
Can you even imagine a speech by a politician where doesn't mention God, or thank God for this or that, or have "a prayer in his heart..."? How do you think a politician in US would fare in any kind of elections or PR excercise if he publicy announced that he is an atheist? Have you ever even heard of anyone in US politics doing that? You haven't, and with a good reason - that would be a career suicide.
US is a Christian Taliban effectively, just with slightly different objectives and methods, but the concept and principles of their existance is the same.
The
Govt is for the People, People are not for the Government. Iranian Govt is still living in a Dream, through web anything is possible nowadays. Its silly to blame Malekpour .
He didn't broke the "law" He made a piece of software and others used it to make a porn site.
It's like you bought a videocamera and get the death penalty because somebody else used your camera to make a porn movie.
(Obiously they are all crazy in Iran with laws like these. But that's a different story)
BUT IT'S A VICTIM-LESS CRIME!!!
It wasn't a crime... Just Iranian repression of its people
bydel, this prisoner's death is different because Iran's laws are backward and cruel. While I oppose capital punishment, I can understand why U.S. states like Texas impose it on murderers or child rapists. But Iran's use of the death penalty here is barbaric.
His alleged crimes don't even make sense. How does designing adult content websites constitute "taking action against national security"?! Why does Iran consider "Insulting the sanctity of Islam” and “Insulting the Supreme Leader and President” to be crimes? And what's up with "spreading corruption on earth"? That crime is so vague that the Iranian government could use it to execute almost anyone they didn't like!
Please write to Iranian and Canadian authorities on behalf of Saeed Malekpour:
http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/take_action.php?actionid=626
Online action:
http://united4iran.org/2012/01/take-action-web-developer-still-at-risk-of-execution/
The problem in countries like Iran is that a mediaeval culture has been brought into the modern era more rapidly than its moral and legal principles can cope with.
It's high time we put more effort into developing fusion power. No dependence on oil, no more oil money to turn these places into danger zones.
Such a hardcore punishment for a software bungling.
There shall be some difference in punishing different crimes as per Islamic principles too.
A prmedicated murder is not to be on par with porno, or adultary . There shall be moderation in the 21st century on interpreting ageold versions designed for those times.
In reply to Anteaus, there's no need to wait for fusion power. The thorium fueled molten salt reactor can provide everything that fusion could, with the difference that it's proven technology. A working prototype was built and successfully operated for a number of years. It's proliferation resistant, the fuel supply is effectively inexhaustible, and while there is nuclear waste from it, it's comparatively shortlived and becomes nonhazardous within about 300 years. Best of all, the radioactive fission products get continuously removed from the reactor during operation, so even if the thing blows sky high, there's never much radioactive material in the reactor to get out (probably less even than currently envisioned fusion reactors would contain).
This tecnology was developed almost 50 years ago and you have to wonder why it hasn't been rolled out worldwide long before now. It certainly seems like there are vested interests at work who want to keep the world dependent on oil!
In the UK in the past couple of weeks there has been a lot in the press about the possibility of Israel (and/or others) attacking Iran to stop them developing Nuclear weapons, and how people are becoming worried about it. I'm becoming worried too. But then one reads stuff like this, and it starts you thinking that if they want to behave like savages then they'll have to be treated like savages. The rest of the world doesn't need nutters like this with powerful weapons. Shame is that some ordinary Iranians will suffer from the fallout, and they don't deserve it. Otherwise you've got to think the sooner the regime is wiped out the better.
This is ridiculous! For some on here to say hes committed a crime is ridiculous - hes created a piece of software! Its a bit like saying someone who builds a car which is used to run someone over is somehow responsible...
As alluded to we really do need an alternative to oil. This way we would be able to cut off the source of income that keeps vulgar governments like this in power.
Iran needs a Suryan type uprising to topple their government and start with something acceptable to normal modern society.
I read this with considerable interest. Firstly, the Iranian Authorities should ban 100% capital punishment. I was a juror on a murder trial once and there was doubt...imagine if we the jury had condemned this person to death, let life be life. At least this defendant had a jury unlike the Iranian regime! We are in the IT world together, we all need to unite here, IT people are above all these pathetic politicians.... You only have to look how crap they are at decision making in the IT arena! We need unity here to help a fellow.... Maybe protest if the Iranians are at CeBIT Hannover in March.... We need to put pressure on the Iraninans and push to keep this guy from having his right to life taken away by a corrupt bunch of pathetic mutters!
I really hope everyone who gets shocked by this new gets shocked too when they hear all western goverments and armies are doing around the world.
OK, so maybe he has offended people with the actions of others using a tool he has created but death????.... had he created a weapon of mass destruction I would come to terms with it, but a porn site app? just goes to show a little knowledge is a powerful thing.... sometimes too powerful! I for one think this storey is one which no doubt only scratches the surface of a much larger problem with the justice systems in country's which hide their government's behind closed doors!what a waste!