Iran, already a global pariah for the beheadings and floggings it imposes on criminals, is taking a new round of criticism for announcing forced amputations for three teens convicted of stealing.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley wrote: "We have previously discussed the brutality of Islamic nations enforcing medieval Shariah law. Iran has given the world another shocking addition to the long list of beheadings, floggings, and other forms of Islamic punishment. A 'court' has ordered the amputation of the fingers of three teenagers found guilty of theft."
He said the "amputation of the fingers of these minors is an offense to the concept of human rights and indeed humanity itself."
Fox News noted that such punishments still are "on the books under the country's Islamic penal code."
It cited the London-based Iran International reporting the three minors – Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharafian and Mehdi Shahivand – lost their appeals in the Iranian Supreme Court this week and were subsequently ordered to have four fingers severed from their right hands.
They've been in jail since their trials were held last year.
"It is unclear when the judicial measure will be carried out, and authorities have not issued any further details about the extent or nature of their crimes," the report said.
But it noted a June report from Iran Human Rights Monitor that the teens say they were "forced to confess under torture."
One of the teens, Rostami, was in "dire health condition" in prison since he had cut his wrists in protest of the sentence.
IRM said: "Article 278 of the Islamic Punishment Law, the four fingers of their right hands will be cut off for four counts of robbery. The fingers must be cut off from the bottom, leaving only the palm and the thumb. According to Article 667 of the same law, they were also ordered to return the stolen goods."
Such information generally is kept secret in Iran "to avoid heat from human rights advocates and the broader international community," the report said.
In a previous amputation case that came to light in the northern province of Mazandaran, Amnesty International called it "an abhorrent form of torture."
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