Iran
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- theocratic republic
- CONSTITUTION
- December 1979, revised in 1989 to extend presidential power
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on Sharia law
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court
RELIGIONS
Shia majority; 10% Sunni; Christian, Jewish, Bahá'í, and Zoroastrian minorities
From the country
- NOVEMBER 3, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Iranian reformist legislators said they wanted to replace...
Iranian reformist legislators said they wanted to replace death by stoning with another form of punishment following European criticism of the practice
- NOVEMBER 3, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran's parliament approved a bill providing for equal...
Iran's parliament approved a bill providing for equal "blood money" compensation to be paid for the deaths or injuries of non-Muslim Iranians as Muslims, a move aimed at protecting the rights of Iran's religious minorities
- OCTOBER 31, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A medical student found guilty of kidnapping and murder...
A medical student found guilty of kidnapping and murder was hanged in public in a stadium of northern Iran, Ettelaat newspaper reported
- OCTOBER 30, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Three Afghans convicted of murder, armed robbery, "seducing...
Three Afghans convicted of murder, armed robbery, "seducing children" and creating public disorder were hanged publicly in the Islamic republic of Iran's city of Qom, newspapers reported
- OCTOBER 30, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
President Khatami of Iran in a joint press conference...
President Khatami of Iran in a joint press conference with the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in Madrid said political reforms in Iran were an ongoing process that Iranian society was mature for
- OCTOBER 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran said it was happy to discuss its stance on human...
Iran said it was happy to discuss its stance on human rights issues such as hanging with concerned European countries, but wouldn't change it
- OCTOBER 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two Iranian men convicted of murder were hanged publicly...
Two Iranian men convicted of murder were hanged publicly in Tehran at dawn, one of them in a park better known as a spot for dining out or hiking, witnesses said
- OCTOBER 26, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian court, in a rare departure from traditional...
An Iranian court, in a rare departure from traditional practice that spares the life of fathers who kill their children, sentenced to death a man who cut off his daughter's head, a newspaper reported
- OCTOBER 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A court in northeastern Iran sentenced seven men to...
A court in northeastern Iran sentenced seven men to death by hanging for their involvement in a spate of kidnaps and rapes, the daily Qods newspaper reported
- OCTOBER 23, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Against the background of the Trade and Co-operation...
Against the background of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement to be negotiated with Iran in coming months, the European Union was set to open a political dialogue with Tehran on human rights
- OCTOBER 21, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran's parliament began procedures to amend a law which...
Iran's parliament began procedures to amend a law which allows a murderer to escape punishment if he proves the killing was justified under the Sharia laws of Islam, a parliamentary source said
- OCTOBER 21, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The European Union was divided over calls to sponsor...
The European Union was divided over calls to sponsor a UN resolution condemning Iran's human rights record