Iranian Cleric Says "rioters" Should be Executed

Hardcore Islamic cleric Ahmad Khatami is calling for the Iranian protesters to be executed. Unfortunately under Islamic law what he wants is legal. As Koran verse 5 32 allows for the death of anyone who is "spreading mischief in the land". Mischief can obviously be anything that they say it is.

Iranian cleric says "rioters" should be executed
By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) – A hardline Iranian cleric on Friday called for the execution of "rioters," in a sign of the authorities' determination to stamp out opposition to the June 12 presidential election result.

Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, said it had found no major violations in the election, which it called the "healthiest" vote since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The council had already rejected a call for the annulment of the vote by moderate former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi, who has led mass protests since he was declared a distant second in the election behind incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"I want the judiciary to ... punish leading rioters firmly and without showing any mercy to teach everyone a lesson," Ahmad Khatami told worshippers at Tehran University.

Iranian state television said on Thursday eight Basij militiamen were killed by "rioters" during the protests. State media previously said 20 people were killed in the marches.

The Group of Eight foreign ministers, meeting in Italy, said they "deplored" the post-election violence and called on Iran to settle the crisis soon through democratic dialogue and peaceful means.

"The crisis should be settled soon through democratic dialogue and peaceful means on the basis of the rule of law," said a final draft statement by the G8 ministers. "We call on the Iranian government to guarantee that the will of the Iranian people is reflected in the electoral process."

HARSH PUNISHMENT

Iranian authorities have accused Mousavi of being responsible for the bloodshed, while the moderate former prime minister says the government is to blame.

Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts, said the judiciary should charge the leading "rioters" as being "mohareb" or one who wages war against God.

"They should be punished ruthlessly and savagely," he said. Under Iran's Islamic law, punishment for people convicted as mohareb is execution.

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