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 Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary general of Iran's High Council
for Human Rights, was responding to calls from Western powers,
including the United States, at a U.N. debate to allow freedoms of
expression and religion, as well as their concerns at a rise in
executions.
Reyhaneh Jabbari was hanged at dawn on Saturday in Tehran's Evin
prison for the murder of man she said had tried to rape her. The
dead man's relatives refused to grant a reprieve within the 10-day
deadline set by sharia law in force since the 1979 Islamic
Revolution.
"We were not successful to solicit forgiveness from the hearts of
victims. So the execution went on. Though we are very sorry that two
nationals lost lives, but capital punishment or 'qisas' is a unique
particularity of our system. I think it worth Western countries to
look into it," Larijani said.
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"The idea that only good things in western community - the 'West and
the rest' - this is a very destructive idea of human rights," he
told the Geneva forum holding a regular review of Iran's record.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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