Cartoon 70: The Judiciary and Execution

The Head of Iran’s Judiciary Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, speaking about human rights earlier this week on Human Rights Day, said, “As I’ve said before, many of the issues raised on the pretext of human rights, including opposing the death penalty, are in fact in opposition to Islam, because qisas [retribution] is clearly stipulated in the Quran.”

“Contrary to what some believe, in fact it is the Islamic Ulama [top experts] who have claims against the West, asking them, ‘Where have you brought your claimed human rights from, and on what foundation are you basing it?’ We ask proponents of Western human rights, based on what rationale do you determine 20 years of imprisonment for someone who has deprived several people of their right to life? And who said this rationale is is based on human rights?” Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani continued.