UN Experts Urge Iran to Halt Imminent Finger Amputation Sentences
GENEVA – UN human rights experts have demanded an immediate halt to the impending amputations of three Iranian prisoners convicted of theft, describing the punishment as a violation of international human rights laws.
Their statement, issued on April 10, 2025, calls for urgent intervention from Iranian authorities and the abolition of such practices, which the experts condemn as torture.
The three men – Hadi Rostami (38), Mehdi Sharifian (42) and Mehdi Shahivand (29 were sentenced in November 2019 under Article 278 of the Islamic Penal Code, which prescribes amputations for certain theft cases.
Despite allegations that their confessions were extracted under torture, Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the verdict in May 2020.
The UN human rights experts, including Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran and Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture, strongly condemned the ruling.
They warned that amputations reportedly carried out without anesthesia—amount to torture and cruel, inhuman treatment.
The experts urged Iranian authorities to intervene immediately and abolish all forms of corporal punishment, calling on the country to ratify the Convention against Torture.
This case follows a similar incident in October 2024, when two prisoners at Orumiyeh Central Prison had four fingers amputated using a guillotine.
The lack of official records detailing the number of amputations raises concerns over transparency in Iran’s judicial system, Jamaica Observer reported.
According to Jamaica Observer, Iran remains one of the world’s leading implementers of corporal punishment and the death penalty, having already executed 245 people in 2025—ranking second globally after China.
Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have condemned these practices, calling them “torture, plain and simple.”
The UN experts remain in contact with Iranian authorities, seeking clarification and urgent intervention to stop these irreversible sentences.
