Hussain Hazbavi 
Iranian authorities are preparing to amputate the fingers of three prisoners as early as April 11, Amnesty International warned on Friday, condemning what it called torture-tainted convictions following unfair trials.
The rights group also called on the international community to urgently intervene to halt the “gruesome plan.”
Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharfian, and Mehdi Shahivand, held in Urmia Central Prison in northwestern Iran, were informed by prosecutors on March 13 that their amputation sentences would be carried out imminently.
Amnesty International highlighted that authorities in the same prison amputated the fingers of two brothers in October 2024 using a guillotine device.
“Amputation constitutes torture, which is a crime under international law and is a flagrant and abhorrent assault on human dignity,” said Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. She called on Iran to immediately halt the sentences and abolish all forms of corporal punishment.
Amnesty International said that the planned amputations are based on confessions obtained under torture and followed grossly unfair trials.
The organization urged that all Iranian officials responsible for ordering or carrying out these acts be criminally investigated and prosecuted, including through universal jurisdiction.
