117-466: Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i ( Persian : غلامحسین محسنی اژهای , romanized : Ğolām-Hoseyn Mohseni Eže'i , Persian pronunciation: [ɢolɒːmhoˈsejn mohseˈniː eʒeˈjiː] ; born 29 September 1956) is an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of Iran . He was the minister of intelligence from 2005 to July 2009, when he
234-408: A qesas crime is a class of crime that can be punished by retribution. The Sharia crime of intentional murder (ghatl-e-amd) is one crime punished by qesas, which in this case is a life for a life. Diyyeh is a private settlement claim between the victim's family and the perpetrator. The victim's family has the option to forgive the criminal by accepting diyya (a financial settlement to compensate for
351-437: A tazir crime is a crime that is punished according to a judge's discretion. A "deterrent crime" is a crime with a fixed sentence. Tazir punishments should generally be less severe. There are no strict proof requirements as there are for hadd. Tazir and deterrent crimes are often comparable to a misdemeanor , though not in cases where the crime is deemed to be equal to a moharebeh/mofsed-fel-arz crime (see above). Arms smuggling
468-485: A "barbaric regime." State-sanctioned executions have witnessed a rapid spike in numbers during 2023. In May 2023 alone, Iran executed at least 142 individuals, its highest monthly rate since 2015. At least 30 of those killed were from the predominantly Sunni Baluch ethnic minority . Iran is believed to execute the most people per capita. Iran insists that the execution numbers human rights groups allege are "exaggerated," and that executions are only carried out "after
585-638: A Dari dialect. In the 19th century, under the Qajar dynasty , the dialect that is spoken in Tehran rose to prominence. There was still substantial Arabic vocabulary, but many of these words have been integrated into Persian phonology and grammar. In addition, under the Qajar rule, numerous Russian , French , and English terms entered the Persian language, especially vocabulary related to technology. The first official attentions to
702-471: A court could find that if a person's crimes (of any type) were heinous enough, and the person is a continued threat to society, they are guilty of "Mofsede-Fel-Arz" (spreading corruption on the earth), which is a related crime and punishable by death/imprisonment. However, moharebeh and mofsede-fel-arz are famous for being political charges disguised as religious crimes. These are often levied against those involved in espionage, treason, activism, opposition to
819-418: A dictionary called Words of Scientific Association ( لغت انجمن علمی ), which was completed in the future and renamed Katouzian Dictionary ( فرهنگ کاتوزیان ). The first academy for the Persian language was founded on 20 May 1935, under the name Academy of Iran . It was established by the initiative of Reza Shah Pahlavi , and mainly by Hekmat e Shirazi and Mohammad Ali Foroughi , all prominent names in
936-639: A fight with Eisa Saharkhiz and biting him. Mohseni Ejei has a teaching background in the Baqer al-Uloom College of the Ministry of Intelligence, teaching in the educational department of the Revolutionary Courts, as well as the Faculty of Judicial Sciences. In 2000, Eje'i was named by journalist Akbar Ganji as having personally ordered the killing of Pirouz Davani , one of the 80+ Iranian intellectuals murdered in
1053-524: A good human being, but said his removal was necessary as the ministry needed huge changes to cope with the situation. He further said if the ministry had done its job properly, there would not have been post-election bloody riots in which some people died, but he stopped short of criticizing Mohseni-Eje'i as responsible for them. According to Stratfor , Mohseni-Eje'i is a conservative hardliner affiliated with hardline cleric Mohammad Yazdi . Mohsen-Eje'i has indicated he would welcome alternative punishments to
1170-437: A heavy volume of drug cases. Often execution is delayed until the person completes a prison sentence. Some murder and rape cases are delayed for five years in order to maximize the possibility of forgiveness and reaching a settlement. In Iran (as in other Muslim countries ), there are two types of sentences resulting in death. The first is a "qesas-e-nafs" (retribution) sentence, when a murder victim's family refuses to forgive
1287-500: A language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Farsi , which is the Persian word for the Persian language, has also been used widely in English in recent decades, more often to refer to Iran's standard Persian. However, the name Persian is still more widely used. The Academy of Persian Language and Literature has maintained that the endonym Farsi is to be avoided in foreign languages, and that Persian
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#17328594755941404-702: A lengthy judicial process." Iranian officials cite that they are "fighting a large-scale drug war along its eastern borders, and the increase of drug lords and dealers causes a rise in executions." According to the BBC, Iran "carries out more executions than any other country, except China". Death sentences in Iran are, in theory, legal for a variety of crimes, such as armed robbery , treason , espionage , murder , certain military offenses, drug trafficking , rape , homosexuality , sodomy , sexual misconduct , incestuous relations , fornication , prostitution , plotting to overthrow
1521-417: A literary language considerably different from the spoken Persian of the time. This became the basis of what is now known as "Contemporary Standard Persian". There are three standard varieties of modern Persian: All these three varieties are based on the classic Persian literature and its literary tradition. There are also several local dialects from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan which slightly differ from
1638-453: A minority of executions in Iran, consisting of 20–30% (although those executed for other crimes may have committed murder previously). Diyya tables are set every year by the Iranian government. Diyya is equivalent to the price of 100 camels, and must be paid in cash. Diyya is doubled if the intentional murder is committed during the holy months Ramadan and Muharram . However, in practice, diyya
1755-694: A murderer (see " Qesas crimes " below). The other type is a regular death sentence, "hokm-e-edam", for crimes such as rape and drug trafficking. These sentences are completely separate in Iranian law, and this has created some confusion in news sources when authorities say that a murder will not result in "execution", but in "qesas". In 2015, Amnesty International argued that executions in Iran were after sentences by courts that were almost always "completely lacking in independence and impartiality", and that "Trials in Iran are deeply flawed, detainees are often denied access to lawyers, and there are inadequate procedures for appeal, pardon, and commutation". In Sharia law,
1872-529: A period of several centuries, Ottoman Turkish (which was highly Persianised itself) had developed toward a fully accepted language of literature, and which was even able to lexically satisfy the demands of a scientific presentation. However, the number of Persian and Arabic loanwords contained in those works increased at times up to 88%. In the Ottoman Empire, Persian was used at the royal court, for diplomacy, poetry, historiographical works, literary works, and
1989-402: A record of the amount of drugs a person is caught with is kept, so that the information is available in the event of a later arrest. Once a certain cumulative amount above is reached, the person is sentenced to the death penalty or life imprisonment. The offense should be deemed tantamount to "mofsede-fel-arz" in order for the perpetrator to be executed. Drug crimes, smuggling, and crimes against
2106-580: A speaker of Persian. Persian is a member of the Western Iranian group of the Iranian languages , which make up a branch of the Indo-European languages in their Indo-Iranian subdivision . The Western Iranian languages themselves are divided into two subgroups: Southwestern Iranian languages, of which Persian is the most widely spoken, and Northwestern Iranian languages, of which Kurdish and Balochi are
2223-480: A tazir punishment such as imprisonment, fines, and/or whipping, but sometimes even death. In these cases, the person(s) who ordered the killing are subject to qesas or diyyeh. If a woman is killed carrying an unborn child after the first trimester, it is considered the murder of two people. If the family demands retribution, they cannot receive diyya, although they may receive some minor civil restitution. Most cases (2/3) are resolved through diyya. Qesas executions are
2340-644: Is a continuation of Middle Persian , an official language of the Sasanian Empire (224–651 CE), itself a continuation of Old Persian , which was used in the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE). It originated in the region of Fars ( Persia ) in southwestern Iran. Its grammar is similar to that of many European languages. Throughout history, Persian was considered prestigious by various empires centered in West Asia , Central Asia , and South Asia . Old Persian
2457-610: Is a direct descendant of Middle and Old Persian. Gernot Windfuhr considers new Persian as an evolution of the Old Persian language and the Middle Persian language but also states that none of the known Middle Persian dialects is the direct predecessor of Modern Persian. Ludwig Paul states: "The language of the Shahnameh should be seen as one instance of continuous historical development from Middle to New Persian." The known history of
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#17328594755942574-411: Is also punishable by death, as well as "making large-scale pornographic websites". A person operating a blog , website, or any type of internet application that is deemed to spread "corruption", "insulting of Islam", "terrorism/violence", or "treason" may be punishable by death. In most cases, lesser penalties are given. Large scale fraud or counterfeiting if enough to disrupt the "financial stability of
2691-765: Is also spoken natively in the Tajik variety by a significant population within Uzbekistan , as well as within other regions with a Persianate history in the cultural sphere of Greater Iran . It is written officially within Iran and Afghanistan in the Persian alphabet , a derivative of the Arabic script , and within Tajikistan in the Tajik alphabet , a derivative of the Cyrillic script . Modern Persian
2808-654: Is attested in Old Persian cuneiform on inscriptions from between the 6th and 4th century BC. Middle Persian is attested in Aramaic -derived scripts ( Pahlavi and Manichaean ) on inscriptions and in Zoroastrian and Manichaean scriptures from between the third to the tenth centuries (see Middle Persian literature ). New Persian literature was first recorded in the ninth century, after the Muslim conquest of Persia , since then adopting
2925-425: Is conventionally divided into three stages: Early New Persian remains largely intelligible to speakers of Contemporary Persian, as the morphology and, to a lesser extent, the lexicon of the language have remained relatively stable. New Persian texts written in the Arabic script first appear in the 9th-century. The language is a direct descendant of Middle Persian, the official, religious, and literary language of
3042-486: Is currently fighting a major drug war on its provinces in the east, primarily Sistan and Baluchistan province and parts of Khorasan province. Since Iran borders Afghanistan and Pakistan , the two largest opium-producing countries in the world, Iran is a major trafficking route to Europe and the west. Since 2000, up to 2,000 Iranian soldiers have died fighting armed drug cartels and smugglers. Most of Iran's executions are related to drug trafficking—a recent announcement by
3159-399: Is negotiated between the parties and they generally settle for more or less diyyeh than the official amount. If the person cannot pay diyya, he would be held in prison until the amount is paid, even if his regular discretionary prison sentence ends. Usually his/her family/friends are expected to help raise the amount, or in some cases the state can pay for it. According to the official tables,
3276-455: Is not actually attested until 600 years later when it appears in the Sassanid era (224–651 AD) inscriptions, so any form of the language before this date cannot be described with any degree of certainty. Moreover, as a literary language, Middle Persian is not attested until much later, in the 6th or 7th century. From the 8th century onward, Middle Persian gradually began yielding to New Persian, with
3393-468: Is one of Afghanistan's two official languages, together with Pashto . The term Dari , meaning "of the court", originally referred to the variety of Persian used in the court of the Sasanian Empire in capital Ctesiphon , which was spread to the northeast of the empire and gradually replaced the former Iranian dialects of Parthia ( Parthian ). Tajik Persian ( форси́и тоҷикӣ́ , forsi-i tojikī ),
3510-570: Is one of the earliest attested Indo-European languages. According to certain historical assumptions about the early history and origin of ancient Persians in Southwestern Iran (where Achaemenids hailed from), Old Persian was originally spoken by a tribe called Parsuwash , who arrived in the Iranian Plateau early in the 1st millennium BCE and finally migrated down into the area of present-day Fārs province. Their language, Old Persian, became
3627-403: Is punishable by death or life in prison if the offense is deemed to be at the level of "moharebeh". Possession, sale, and/or use of illegal military weapons may be punishable by death or life in prison. Human trafficking is punishable by death or life in prison if the trafficked person was under 18 years of age or if rape, murder, or financial exploitation occurred. Operation of prostitution rings
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3744-486: Is the appropriate designation of the language in English, as it has the longer tradition in western languages and better expresses the role of the language as a mark of cultural and national continuity. Iranian historian and linguist Ehsan Yarshater , founder of the Encyclopædia Iranica and Columbia University 's Center for Iranian Studies, mentions the same concern in an academic journal on Iranology , rejecting
3861-446: Is usually about the same time it takes to pay the diyya. Usually, longer sentences are given, and if other crimes were committed along with the murder, the person will serve a longer prison sentence, possibly even up to life imprisonment. The perpetrator may be convicted for murder in the case of a confession, if there are two witnesses to the crime, if there are 50 sworn testimonies, and/or if one or more people testifies 50 times against
3978-436: The Encyclopædia Iranica notes that the Iranian, Afghan, and Tajiki varieties comprise distinct branches of the Persian language, and within each branch a wide variety of local dialects exist. The following are some languages closely related to Persian, or in some cases are considered dialects: More distantly related branches of the Iranian language family include Kurdish and Balochi . The Glottolog database proposes
4095-502: The Kalila wa Dimna . The language spread geographically from the 11th century on and was the medium through which, among others, Central Asian Turks became familiar with Islam and urban culture. New Persian was widely used as a trans-regional lingua franca , a task aided due to its relatively simple morphology, and this situation persisted until at least the 19th century. In the late Middle Ages, new Islamic literary languages were created on
4212-651: The British colonization , Persian was widely used as a second language in the Indian subcontinent . It took prominence as the language of culture and education in several Muslim courts on the subcontinent and became the sole "official language" under the Mughal emperors . The Bengal Sultanate witnessed an influx of Persian scholars, lawyers, teachers, and clerics. Thousands of Persian books and manuscripts were published in Bengal. The period of
4329-591: The Chain murders of Iran On 15 July 2009, Mohseni-Eje'i told reporters that his ministry might publicize confessions made by people held for weeks without access to their lawyers. He said, "The confessions obtained from those arrested could be made public, should the Judiciary decide to air their remarks." Human rights activists raised concerns that "these so-called confessions are obtained under duress." After his dismissal, president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised Mohsen-Eje'i as
4446-520: The European Union for his role in suppressing the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests . Persian language Russia Persian ( / ˈ p ɜːr ʒ ən , - ʃ ən / PUR -zhən, -shən ), also known by its endonym Farsi ( فارسی , Fārsī [fɒːɾˈsiː] ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of
4563-448: The Indo-European languages . Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and used officially within Iran , Afghanistan , and Tajikistan in three mutually intelligible standard varieties , respectively Iranian Persian (officially known as Persian ), Dari Persian (officially known as Dari since 1964), and Tajiki Persian (officially known as Tajik since 1999). It
4680-965: The Islamic Consultative Assembly , also known as the Parliament of Iran ( Majlis ). They must be verified by the Guardian Council and signed by the president of Iran . The laws must be consistent with Sharia , although many laws are derived from pre-revolution civil law, rather than Sharia. For example, while almost 80% of Iranian executions are for drug traffickers, drug trafficking laws are part of Iranian civil law, not Sharia law. There are three types of criminal courts. Criminal courts of first instance try serious crimes, hadd crimes, and qesas crimes, such as murder, rape, and theft. These courts can issue death sentences. Criminal courts of second instance try misdemeanors and contraventions. The Islamic Revolutionary Courts try offenses aimed against
4797-485: The Majlis . He was in office until 26 July 2009, when he was abruptly dismissed. No reason was given for his dismissal, but it was thought to be connected to his opposition to the appointment of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei as first vice-president. As a spokesman for the judiciary, he has also been accountable to the media and journalists. Shortly after his dismissal, on 24 August 2009, he was appointed Prosecutor general of Iran by
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4914-558: The Prophet Muhammad , his daughter, or his family is a crime in Iran, and a blasphemer would be found guilty of apostasy as well by default. Blasphemy is punishable by death or imprisonment. For all other hudud crimes, the fourth offense would be a capital offense, unless the person repents. Other hudud crimes include incest, theft (serghat-e-haddi), lesbianism (mosahegheh), false accusation of sex crimes (ghazf), pimping (ghavvadi), and drunkenness (shurb-e-khamr). However, for all but
5031-514: The Quran and considered to be comparable to felonies . Some of these laws are part of Iran's penal code, while others are not. Their punishments are also described in the Quran and Hadith . Hadud crimes must be proven by confession, two witnesses (four witnesses in the case of adultery), or in rare cases, by "judge's knowledge" (where, based on available evidence, the defendant's guilt is extremely obvious). If
5148-655: The Sultanate of Rum , Turkmen beyliks of Anatolia , Delhi Sultanate , the Shirvanshahs , Safavids , Afsharids , Zands , Qajars , Khanate of Bukhara , Khanate of Kokand , Emirate of Bukhara , Khanate of Khiva , Ottomans , and also many Mughal successors such as the Nizam of Hyderabad . Persian was the only non-European language known and used by Marco Polo at the Court of Kublai Khan and in his journeys through China. A branch of
5265-688: The Turkic , Armenian , Georgian , & Indo-Aryan languages . It also exerted some influence on Arabic, while borrowing a lot of vocabulary from it in the Middle Ages. Some of the world's most famous pieces of literature from the Middle Ages, such as the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi , the works of Rumi , the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám , the Panj Ganj of Nizami Ganjavi , The Divān of Hafez , The Conference of
5382-483: The ezāfe construction, expressed through ī (modern e/ye ), to indicate some of the relations between words that have been lost with the simplification of the earlier grammatical system. Although the "middle period" of the Iranian languages formally begins with the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, the transition from Old to Middle Persian had probably already begun before the 4th century BC. However, Middle Persian
5499-585: The " Persianized " Turko-Mongol dynasties during the 12th to 15th centuries, and under restored Persian rule during the 16th to 19th centuries. Persian during this time served as lingua franca of Greater Persia and of much of the Indian subcontinent . It was also the official and cultural language of many Islamic dynasties, including the Samanids, Buyids , Tahirids , Ziyarids , the Mughal Empire , Timurids , Ghaznavids , Karakhanids , Seljuqs , Khwarazmians ,
5616-477: The Baha'i community, including a ban on young adherents attending university. The death sentence could be given for a male, though the last such execution was in 1990. A case is Youcef Nadarkhani , an Iranian Christian Pastor sentenced to death for apostasy 21–22 September 2010 in the province of Gilan, but the sentence has not been carried out. For women, the maximum sentence is life in prison. Blasphemy (sabb-al-nabi) of
5733-672: The Birds by Attar of Nishapur , and the miscellanea of Gulistan and Bustan by Saadi Shirazi , are written in Persian. Some of the prominent modern Persian poets were Nima Yooshij , Ahmad Shamlou , Simin Behbahani , Sohrab Sepehri , Rahi Mo'ayyeri , Mehdi Akhavan-Sales , and Forugh Farrokhzad . There are approximately 130 million Persian speakers worldwide, including Persians , Lurs , Tajiks , Hazaras , Iranian Azeris , Iranian Kurds , Balochs , Tats , Afghan Pashtuns , and Aimaqs . The term Persophone might also be used to refer to
5850-622: The Head of Judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani , replacing Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi . In 1998, with the ruling of Seyyed Ali Khamenei, he succeeded Mohammad Reyshahri , who held the position of Attorney General of the Special Clerical Court . He has also been the Special Prosecutor for the Clergy for two years. One notable incident during his tenure at Special Clergy court is having
5967-497: The Islamic Republic", or "intentionally aimed at undermining the government" is punishable by death or life in prison if at the level of "mofsed-fel-arz". In addition, people who act against the Islamic Republic or are convicted of terrorism can be sentenced to death for moharebeh/mofsed-fel-arz. According to Iran's Anti-Narcotics Law, possession of narcotics is a felony punishable by death or life imprisonment if: In drug cases,
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#17328594755946084-521: The Islamic government; political dissidence ; sabotage ; arson ; rebellion ; apostasy ; blasphemy ; extortion ; counterfeiting ; smuggling ; recidivist consumption of alcohol ; producing or preparing food, drink, cosmetics, or sanitary items that lead to death when consumed or used; producing and publishing pornography ; using pornographic materials to solicit sex; capital perjury; recidivist theft ; certain military offences (e. g., cowardice, assisting
6201-437: The Islamic regime, political dissidence , sabotage , apostasy , blasphemy , adultery , producing and publishing pornography , burglary , recidivist consumption of alcohol , recidivist theft , rebellion , some economic crimes , kidnapping , terrorism and few others. There are four classes of crimes in Iranian law: qesas crimes, hadd crimes, tazir crimes, and deterrent crimes. In Iran, laws are created by
6318-558: The Middle Ages, and is because of the lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The standard Persian of Iran has been called, apart from Persian and Farsi , by names such as Iranian Persian and Western Persian , exclusively. Officially, the official language of Iran is designated simply as Persian ( فارسی , fārsi ). The standard Persian of Afghanistan has been officially named Dari ( دری , dari ) since 1958. Also referred to as Afghan Persian in English, it
6435-532: The Ottoman Empire all spoke Persian, such as Sultan Selim I , despite being Safavid Iran's archrival and a staunch opposer of Shia Islam . It was a major literary language in the empire. Some of the noted earlier Persian works during the Ottoman rule are Idris Bidlisi 's Hasht Bihisht , which began in 1502 and covered the reign of the first eight Ottoman rulers, and the Salim-Namah , a glorification of Selim I. After
6552-521: The Persian language can be divided into the following three distinct periods: As a written language , Old Persian is attested in royal Achaemenid inscriptions. The oldest known text written in Old Persian is from the Behistun Inscription , dating to the time of King Darius I (reigned 522–486 BC). Examples of Old Persian have been found in what is now Iran , Romania ( Gherla ), Armenia , Bahrain , Iraq , Turkey, and Egypt . Old Persian
6669-425: The Persian language, a language historically called Dari, emerged in present-day Afghanistan. The first significant Persian poet was Rudaki . He flourished in the 10th century, when the Samanids were at the height of their power. His reputation as a court poet and as an accomplished musician and singer has survived, although little of his poetry has been preserved. Among his lost works are versified fables collected in
6786-401: The Persian model: Ottoman Turkish , Chagatai Turkic , Dobhashi Bengali , and Urdu, which are regarded as "structural daughter languages" of Persian. "Classical Persian" loosely refers to the standardized language of medieval Persia used in literature and poetry . This is the language of the 10th to 12th centuries, which continued to be used as literary language and lingua franca under
6903-848: The Perso-Arabic script. Persian was the first language to break through the monopoly of Arabic on writing in the Muslim world , with Persian poetry becoming a tradition in many eastern courts. It was used officially as a language of bureaucracy even by non-native speakers, such as the Ottomans in Anatolia , the Mughals in South Asia, and the Pashtuns in Afghanistan. It influenced languages spoken in neighboring regions and beyond, including other Iranian languages,
7020-479: The Sasanian Empire (224–651). However, it is not descended from the literary form of Middle Persian (known as pārsīk , commonly called Pahlavi), which was spoken by the people of Fars and used in Zoroastrian religious writings. Instead, it is descended from the dialect spoken by the court of the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon and the northeastern Iranian region of Khorasan , known as Dari. The region, which comprised
7137-575: The Sassanids (who were Persians, i.e. from the southwest) from the preceding Arsacids (who were Parthians, i.e. from the northeast). While Ibn al-Muqaffa' (eighth century) still distinguished between Pahlavi (i.e. Parthian) and Persian (in Arabic text: al-Farisiyah) (i.e. Middle Persian), this distinction is not evident in Arab commentaries written after that date. "New Persian" (also referred to as Modern Persian)
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#17328594755947254-457: The Seljuks, the Sultanate of Rum , took Persian language, art, and letters to Anatolia. They adopted the Persian language as the official language of the empire. The Ottomans , who can roughly be seen as their eventual successors, inherited this tradition. Persian was the official court language of the empire, and for some time, the official language of the empire. The educated and noble class of
7371-487: The Supreme Court of Cassation of Iran, which can affirm or deny the sentence. If the Supreme Court of Cassation finds irregularities, it can send the case to a lower court for a re-trial. There is no limit on the number of times that a defendant may appeal, but if guilt is established, the Court will affirm the sentence. In murder and rape cases, the perpetrator can ask for forgiveness from the victim's family; in other cases,
7488-423: The actual numbers are higher, the punishment is nonetheless rare in proportion to confirmed cases of adultery. The punishment is given mostly in aggravated circumstances when the four witnesses or a confession is available and the spouse died. Most adulterers go unpunished, or receive a lighter sentence. Divorce is usually the most common method in dealing with adultery. Rape (zina-be-onf) is related to adultery, has
7605-493: The area of Lake Urmia in the records of Shalmaneser III . The exact identity of the Parsuwash is not known for certain, but from a linguistic viewpoint the word matches Old Persian pārsa itself coming directly from the older word * pārćwa . Also, as Old Persian contains many words from another extinct Iranian language, Median , according to P. O. Skjærvø it is probable that Old Persian had already been spoken before
7722-457: The code fas for the dialects spoken across Iran and Afghanistan. This consists of the individual languages Dari ( prs ) and Iranian Persian ( pes ). It uses tgk for Tajik, separately. In general, the Iranian languages are known from three periods: namely Old, Middle, and New (Modern). These correspond to three historical eras of Iranian history ; Old era being sometime around the Achaemenid Empire (i.e., 400–300 BC), Middle era being
7839-512: The collapse of the Sassanid state, Parsik came to be applied exclusively to (either Middle or New) Persian that was written in the Arabic script . From about the 9th century onward, as Middle Persian was on the threshold of becoming New Persian, the older form of the language came to be erroneously called Pahlavi , which was actually but one of the writing systems used to render both Middle Persian as well as various other Middle Iranian languages. That writing system had previously been adopted by
7956-399: The consenting participants was under 18, the punishment is 100 lashes for the minor. If the guilty is repentant, they generally receive a reduced sentence of 99 lashes. All people convicted of sodomy spend one year in prison in addition, and can be sentenced to more prison time at the judge's discretion. Few people are sentenced to death for sodomy, but prior to 2012, both partners could receive
8073-491: The death penalty for some drug traffickers, if these alternatives proposed by teachers were more effective punishments than the death penalty. However, he stated that, so far, critics of the death penalty in Iran have not offered alternatives that would deal effectively with Iran's drug gangs. Mohseni-Eje'i was among several Iranian officials that were sanctioned in 2011 by the United States Department of State and
8190-549: The death penalty. Consumption of alcohol (one glass) is punished by 80 lashes, but repeated offences may lead to death penalty, although rarely exercised. In 2012, two men were sentenced to death after a third offense in Khorasan. The sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court, but it may be commuted to flogging if the convicted repent. On 9 July 2020, a man was executed in Mashhad for drinking alcohol. Judicial system later confirmed
8307-411: The defendant. However, in practice, judges also allow circumstantial evidence. Qesas cannot be applied in cases of self-defense or manslaughter, where the proof requirements above are not met, to minors (age 15 for boys, 9 for girls prior to 2008; after 2008, age 18 in most cases), to those declared insane, in a case where the victim is the perpetrator's spouse or spouse's lover and the perpetrator caught
8424-429: The enemy); " waging war against God "; " spreading corruption on Earth "; espionage ; and treason . Iran carried out at least 977 executions in 2015, at least 567 executions in 2016, and at least 507 executions in 2017. In 2018 there were at least 249 executions, at least 273 in 2019, at least 246 in 2020, at least 290 in 2021, at least 553 in 2022, at least 834 in 2023, and at least 226 so far in 2024. In 2023, Iran
8541-432: The exception of a spouse caught committing adultery (punishable by imprisonment). People who murder in self-defense can usually be released after paying blood money to the victim's family, and the courts would usually help to facilitate that. In the case of manslaughter or insufficient proof, the perpetrator is not required to pay diyya. If a murderer was working under someone else's orders, and can prove it, they may receive
8658-485: The execution and defended it by saying that he had drinking offenses before. Apostasy (murrtaad) is not codified in the penal code, but is nevertheless subject to prosecution by Iranian courts, due to the primary role of Sharia in the legal system. Some two hundred members of the Baha'i religion, an indigenous faith, but proscribed as a form of apostasy, have been hanged, while many have been and are imprisoned. A range of serious and petty sanctions are routinely placed on
8775-632: The extent of its influence on certain languages of the Indian subcontinent. Words borrowed from Persian are still quite commonly used in certain Indo-Aryan languages, especially Hindi - Urdu (also historically known as Hindustani ), Punjabi , Kashmiri , and Sindhi . There is also a small population of Zoroastrian Iranis in India, who migrated in the 19th century to escape religious execution in Qajar Iran and speak
8892-427: The family of a female victim receives half the amount of diyya due to the family of a man (though the amount is equal in accidental death cases); however, in practice, diyyeh is negotiated, and usually the amount is equal, especially in recent years. Before 2004, non-Muslims would receive half the diyya of a Muslim, but the law was changed to give Muslims and non-Muslims equal diyya. In Islamic criminal jurisprudence,
9009-436: The family to forgive the murderer, even at times pressuring them to do so. Often, a murder execution is delayed for five years after the murder was committed in order to persuade the family to exercise forgiveness, and allow time for the murderer to pay diyya . If pardoned, the perpetrator still faces criminal penalties through the tazir code. Anybody who commits intentional murder must face a minimum of 2–3 years in prison, which
9126-435: The family's loss) rather than allowing the perpetrator to be executed. Because murder is considered a private matter between the perpetrator and the victim's family, the state may not commute a qesas-e-nafs sentence. The conviction, but not the sentence, can be appealed. Judges may only recommend the course of action the family takes, and in many cases ask the family to forgive the murderer. In many cases, judges try to persuade
9243-473: The following phylogenetic classification: Death penalty in Iran Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Iran . The list of crimes punishable by death includes murder ; rape ; child molestation ; homosexuality ; drug trafficking ; armed robbery ; kidnapping ; terrorism ; burglary ; incest ; fornication ; adultery ; sodomy ; sexual misconduct ; prostitution ; plotting to overthrow
9360-562: The formation of many modern languages in West Asia, Europe, Central Asia , and South Asia . Following the Turko-Persian Ghaznavid conquest of South Asia , Persian was firstly introduced in the region by Turkic Central Asians. The basis in general for the introduction of Persian language into the subcontinent was set, from its earliest days, by various Persianized Central Asian Turkic and Afghan dynasties. For five centuries prior to
9477-471: The formation of the Achaemenid Empire and was spoken during most of the first half of the first millennium BCE. Xenophon , a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BCE, which is when Old Persian was still spoken and extensively used. He relates that the Armenian people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like
9594-446: The government, or terrorism. In 2008, "operation of prostitution rings" and "running pornographic websites/businesses" were added to the list. Large scale economic crimes that disrupt the economy are also punishable by death if the perpetrator is found guilty of mofsede-fel-arz. Belonging to an armed anti-regime opposition group or being part of "riotous disturbances"/ "armed acts" against the state are punishable by death or imprisonment if
9711-449: The government. Another related crime is Mofsede-fel-arz , which is "spreading corruption on the earth", which can be applied for political crimes such as treason.The Iran's judiciary system has also used another related crime, Baghy , which is translated to "armed rebellion against the Islamic government", especially against protesters during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests . These are punishable by death or life imprisonment. Similarly,
9828-480: The judiciary said that 74% of executions in Iran were drug-related. In 2015, according to Iran's vice-president for women and family affairs, Shahindokht Molaverdi , in an unnamed village in Sistan and Baluchistan every adult male was executed on drugs charges. In 2016 lawmakers proposed a bill to end capital punishment for drug offences. A justice minister also supported the proposal. Hudud crimes are mentioned in
9945-461: The language of the Persians. Related to Old Persian, but from a different branch of the Iranian language family, was Avestan , the language of the Zoroastrian liturgical texts. The complex grammatical conjugation and declension of Old Persian yielded to the structure of Middle Persian in which the dual number disappeared, leaving only singular and plural, as did gender. Middle Persian developed
10062-405: The majority of dealers get a prison sentence on first offense, but on the second or third offense, they are executed or sentenced to life imprisonment. In armed drug smuggling cases, the prisoner often must serve a prison sentence prior to execution (typically 5–10 years). Most executed drug dealers have been implicated in other crimes at some point (including theft, robbery, rape, and murder). Iran
10179-432: The middle-period form only continuing in the texts of Zoroastrianism . Middle Persian is considered to be a later form of the same dialect as Old Persian. The native name of Middle Persian was Parsig or Parsik , after the name of the ethnic group of the southwest, that is, "of Pars ", Old Persian Parsa , New Persian Fars . This is the origin of the name Farsi as it is today used to signify New Persian. Following
10296-525: The most widely spoken. The term Persian is an English derivation of Latin Persiānus , the adjectival form of Persia , itself deriving from Greek Persís ( Περσίς ), a Hellenized form of Old Persian Pārsa ( 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 ), which means " Persia " (a region in southwestern Iran, corresponding to modern-day Fars ). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the term Persian as
10413-461: The nationalist movement of the time. The academy was a key institution in the struggle to re-build Iran as a nation-state after the collapse of the Qajar dynasty. During the 1930s and 1940s, the academy led massive campaigns to replace the many Arabic , Russian , French , and Greek loanwords whose widespread use in Persian during the centuries preceding the foundation of the Pahlavi dynasty had created
10530-495: The necessity of protecting the Persian language against foreign words, and to the standardization of Persian orthography , were under the reign of Naser ed Din Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1871. After Naser ed Din Shah, Mozaffar ed Din Shah ordered the establishment of the first Persian association in 1903. This association officially declared that it used Persian and Arabic as acceptable sources for coining words. The ultimate goal
10647-414: The next period most officially around the Sasanian Empire , and New era being the period afterward down to present day. According to available documents, the Persian language is "the only Iranian language" for which close philological relationships between all of its three stages are established and so that Old, Middle, and New Persian represent one and the same language of Persian; that is, New Persian
10764-713: The northern part of Greece). Vardar Yenicesi differed from other localities in the Balkans insofar as that it was a town where Persian was also widely spoken. However, the Persian of Vardar Yenicesi and throughout the rest of the Ottoman-held Balkans was different from formal Persian both in accent and vocabulary. The difference was apparent to such a degree that the Ottomans referred to it as "Rumelian Persian" ( Rumili Farsisi ). As learned people such as students, scholars and literati often frequented Vardar Yenicesi, it soon became
10881-529: The official language of the Achaemenid kings. Assyrian records, which in fact appear to provide the earliest evidence for ancient Iranian (Persian and Median) presence on the Iranian Plateau, give a good chronology but only an approximate geographical indication of what seem to be ancient Persians. In these records of the 9th century BCE, Parsuwash (along with Matai , presumably Medians) are first mentioned in
10998-540: The perpetrator can ask for clemency from the "Amnesty and Pardons Commission" of Iran to reduce their sentences. In 2011, an amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act ended the official right of appeal for repeat drug offenders. Instead, they can directly appeal to the Prosecutor General of Iran. This change was made because the regular appeals courts were overloaded and could not carry out their work quickly due to
11115-434: The perpetrator is found guilty of moharebeh. Adultery (zina-e-mohsen) is punishable by 100 lashes for unmarried people and by death on the fourth offense. It is punishable by death ( stoning ) for married people and in all cases of incest. If an unmarried non-Muslim male has sexual relations with a Muslim female, the non-Muslim male will be put to death. Four witnesses (rather than two witnesses) are required to prove adultery,
11232-545: The person must confess four times, or they must be convicted by judge's knowledge (through definite circumstantial evidence). If the person confesses twice and is "repentant" or the victim's family forgives the adulterer, the judge can give a tazir sentence of 99 lashes instead, or imprisonment. Convictions and executions for this crime are extremely rare, usually only carried out in the case of death and rare even then. Between 1979 and 2002, 40–76 adultery/incest executions (by stoning) were recorded for both men and women. Even if
11349-628: The present territories of northwestern Afghanistan as well as parts of Central Asia, played a leading role in the rise of New Persian. Khorasan, which was the homeland of the Parthians, was Persianized under the Sasanians. Dari Persian thus supplanted Parthian language , which by the end of the Sasanian era had fallen out of use. New Persian has incorporated many foreign words, including from eastern northern and northern Iranian languages such as Sogdian and especially Parthian. The transition to New Persian
11466-404: The prosecution cannot provide the proof for a hadud crime, it is tried as a lesser tazir crime. The application of hudud crimes differ significantly in Iran from what is prescribed by classical Sharia. Conviction for these require a high proof rate, and cannot be given when there is any reasonable doubt. All hudud crimes also have a tazir penalty, and in most cases the perpetrator is sentenced to
11583-454: The rapist still faces tazir penalties, such as 100 lashes and jail time for immoral acts, and often faces further penalties for other crimes committed alongside the rape, such as kidnapping, assault, and disruption of public order. Sodomy ( lavat ) is punishable by death. The judge can determine the type of death, but in practice, it is always hanging. The proof requirements are the same as for adultery, and such sentences are very rare. If one of
11700-578: The region during the following centuries. Persian continued to act as a courtly language for various empires in Punjab through the early 19th century serving finally as the official state language of the Sikh Empire , preceding British conquest and the decline of Persian in South Asia. Beginning in 1843, though, English and Hindustani gradually replaced Persian in importance on the subcontinent. Evidence of Persian's historical influence there can be seen in
11817-589: The reign of Sultan Ghiyathuddin Azam Shah is described as the "golden age of Persian literature in Bengal". Its stature was illustrated by the Sultan's own correspondence and collaboration with the Persian poet Hafez ; a poem which can be found in the Divan of Hafez today. A Bengali dialect emerged among the common Bengali Muslim folk, based on a Persian model and known as Dobhashi ; meaning mixed language . Dobhashi Bengali
11934-456: The same proof requirements, and is punishable by death ( hanging ). In Iran, for the most part, convictions are made either by confession or "judge's knowledge", rather than witnesses. In many cases the rape victim settles the case by accepting compensation (jirah) in exchange for withdrawing the charges or forgiving the rapist. This is similar to diyyeh, but equal to a woman's dowry. A woman can also receive diyya for injuries sustained. Normally,
12051-607: The site of a flourishing Persianate linguistic and literary culture. The 16th-century Ottoman Aşık Çelebi (died 1572), who hailed from Prizren in modern-day Kosovo , was galvanized by the abundant Persian-speaking and Persian-writing communities of Vardar Yenicesi, and he referred to the city as a "hotbed of Persian". Many Ottoman Persianists who established a career in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul ) pursued early Persian training in Saraybosna, amongst them Ahmed Sudi . The Persian language influenced
12168-424: The spouse committing adultery, or in the case of a father murdering his children. In these cases, the perpetrator is punished through a tazir discretionary sentence, ranging from 2 years to life in prison. Sometimes the death penalty can be used regardless if the person has been found guilty of moharebeh ("spreading corruption on the earth"). Crimes of passion may not always be recognized as a legitimate defense, with
12285-542: The stability of the country are tried in the Revolutionary Court system, a special court that handles such cases relating to national security. In 2011, the right of appeal was revoked for certain drug crimes, and instead, the case must be appealed to the Prosecutor-General of Iran. Mitigating factors allow the judge to give a lesser penalty of life imprisonment (which can be decreased upon appeal). In practice,
12402-561: The standard Persian of Tajikistan, has been officially designated as Tajik ( тоҷикӣ , tojikī ) since the time of the Soviet Union . It is the name given to the varieties of Persian spoken in Central Asia in general. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa for the Persian language, as its coding system is mostly based on the native-language designations. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses
12519-687: The standard Persian. The Hazaragi dialect (in Central Afghanistan and Pakistan), Herati (in Western Afghanistan), Darwazi (in Afghanistan and Tajikistan), Basseri (in Southern Iran), and the Tehrani accent (in Iran, the basis of standard Iranian Persian) are examples of these dialects. Persian-speaking peoples of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan can understand one another with a relatively high degree of mutual intelligibility . Nevertheless,
12636-628: The state and its associated institutions. Crimes include smuggling (e. g., of drugs or weapons), terrorism, counterfeiting, and treason. The revolutionary courts can also issue death sentences. In most cases (about 90%), executions are carried out in a provincial prison in the province where the crime took place. In serious cases, the criminal is publicly executed at the spot the crime was committed. Many serious criminals or drug-related criminals are sent to larger, more centralized prisons, such as Evin and Gohardasht Prisons in Tehran and Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad . A death sentence can be appealed to
12753-473: The tazir penalty. If a perpetrator is repentant, the hudud punishment could be pardoned. In the majority of cases, people who commit a hudud offensive would be given tazir punishments such as imprisonment or fines, but in some serious cases, the hudud punishment could be given in addition to it. Moharebeh ("waging war against God" or "war against the State") is a charge levied against people who commit acts against
12870-478: The use of Farsi in foreign languages. Etymologically, the Persian term Farsi derives from its earlier form Pārsi ( Pārsik in Middle Persian ), which in turn comes from the same root as the English term Persian . In the same process, the Middle Persian toponym Pārs ("Persia") evolved into the modern name Fars. The phonemic shift from /p/ to /f/ is due to the influence of Arabic in
12987-607: Was abruptly dismissed. He has also held a number of governmental posts since 1984. Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i was born in Ezhiyeh , Isfahan , Imperial State of Iran in 1956. He is a graduate of the Haqqani school in Qom and one of his teachers was Mesbah Yazdi . He also received a master's degree in international law from the Haqqani school. Mohseni-Eje'i served as Head of the Ministry of Intelligence 's Select Committee from 1984 to 1985. He
13104-578: Was already complete by the era of the three princely dynasties of Iranian origin, the Tahirid dynasty (820–872), Saffarid dynasty (860–903), and Samanid Empire (874–999). Abbas of Merv is mentioned as being the earliest minstrel to chant verse in the New Persian tongue and after him the poems of Hanzala Badghisi were among the most famous between the Persian-speakers of the time. The first poems of
13221-586: Was patronised and given official status under the Sultans of Bengal , and was a popular literary form used by Bengalis during the pre-colonial period, irrespective of their religion. Following the defeat of the Hindu Shahi dynasty, classical Persian was established as a courtly language in the region during the late 10th century under Ghaznavid rule over the northwestern frontier of the subcontinent . Employed by Punjabis in literature, Persian achieved prominence in
13338-523: Was responsible for 74% of all recorded executions in the world. Despite international requests for his release, the Iranian government executed a British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari in January 2023, who once served as Iran's deputy defense minister . The execution was condemned by the UK and Prime minister Rishi Sunak , who referred to it as politically motivated and a "callous and cowardly act" carried out by
13455-600: Was taught in state schools, and was also offered as an elective course or recommended for study in some madrasas . Persian learning was also widespread in the Ottoman-held Balkans ( Rumelia ), with a range of cities being famed for their long-standing traditions in the study of Persian and its classics, amongst them Saraybosna (modern Sarajevo , Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mostar (also in Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Vardar Yenicesi (or Yenice-i Vardar, now Giannitsa , in
13572-592: Was then Representative of the Head of Judiciary to the Ministry of Intelligence (1986–88). From 1989 to 1990, he served as Head of the Prosecutor's Office for economic affairs. Next, he held the post of Representative of the Head of Judiciary to the Ministry of Intelligence, from 1991 to 1994. His next post was Prosecutor of the Special Clerical Court , which he held from 1995 to 1997. He was appointed Minister of Intelligence on 24 August 2005 after securing 217 votes in his favor at
13689-484: Was to prevent books from being printed with wrong use of words. According to the executive guarantee of this association, the government was responsible for wrongfully printed books. Words coined by this association, such as rāh-āhan ( راهآهن ) for "railway", were printed in Soltani Newspaper ; but the association was eventually closed due to inattention. A scientific association was founded in 1911, resulting in
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