In the bright morning hours of 28 October, a busy square in an affluent area of north-west Tehran became the scene of a bloody murder. This was no ordinary crime. It was more like a public spectacle, dragging on for an excruciating 45 minutes before the victim bled to death.
At least two armed police officers and hundreds of spectators stood by while the assailant continued to torment the victim and threatened to commit suicide if anyone intervened.
...the victim, a 30-year-old man later identified in court documents as Yazdan, lying on the road in a pool of blood, after being stabbed multiple times. He is heard begging for help from bystanders: "For the love of God, call emergency services, I am dying."
...The apparent indifference of witnesses to both gruesome murders has prompted national soul-searching and been analysed in-depth by Iranian sociologists and intellectuals.
...The murderer, who described his motive as rivalry over a woman, was sentenced to death by public hanging with sources in Iran suggesting he will be hanged in the very square where the murder was committed.
This outcome has added another issue to the ongoing debate around the incident.
Supporters of Sharia law have long argued that the Islamic law of retribution is intended to serve as a deterrent to potential criminals.
Public hangings have become relatively common. The execution of Shahla Jahed, the mistress of a prominent footballer for the murder of his wife last week was reported to have been the 146th in Iran this year.
However, some opponents believe that such punishments have desensitised Iranian society to violence.
They claim it has instead inadvertently legitimised its use and fermented social apathy towards acts of violence.
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