Kamangir (Archer)

“Hang Him Up Fast”

Kamangir | June 21, 2006 | Category Iran

Mohammad Bakhshian (Persian: محمد بخشيان) is convicted of killing a bank supervisor during an arm rubbery in Isfahan, last January. He was hung up yesterday. According to the traditions, and I am not aware where they come from, he has probably been executed in a place close to the crime scene and the rope was fastened around his neck by a relative of the victim. Most probably, the man with the helmet, which is used to make his identity secretive, is the family member.
To my understanding one reason for this action is to avenge for the victim’s family’s suffering. In one of the pictures we see a women embracing the dead man. I don’t really understand the justification for making somebody suffer in public because somebody else is dying for a revenge. Another reason may be to send a message to the public that criminal acts are not tolerated. I have no expertise in this area but looking at the people’s face, except for a few men standing in the front row, the rest of the crowd seem to be watching a circus. The last reason probably is to punish the “criminal”. I doubt if we look a bit thorougher we would see him solely by himself responsible for what has happened. Bad neighborhood, disrupted families, and lack of education are the obvious factors that are always found invloved in these situation. Getting deeper they all have a link to social problems such as poverty. Then, the question is if somebody is going to be hung up who should really that poor guy be?
Frankly, I think the kind of “hang him up fast” policy practiced in Iran and a few other countries is a rapid way to get rid of the fact that there are serious problems in the society.