"RIGHTS-IRAN: Gov't "Leading by Fear", Activists Say"

Here is the link to my latest piece about the current Human Rights situation and also the unusual punushments which has been adopted by the authorities:

"BERKELEY, California, U.S., Jan 17 (IPS) - Iran's recent use of extreme punishments such as amputations and public executions has deepened concerns about the situation of human rights amid the strict enforcement of Islamic law, which has worsened since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hardliner government came to power in June 2005.

"We've been concerned about the rise in executions in Iran in the past year, and we are very alarmed to learn about the recent case of amputations, which are a particularly cruel and brutal form of punishment," said a specialist on Iran at the New York-based Human Rights Watch, who preferred not to be named.... (Read the rest of the story here.)