Armin and Hatef, the primary and secondary suspects in the robbery of safety deposit boxes at the University Branch of Bank Melli, were sentenced to hand amputation by the Tehran Province Criminal Court. The Supreme Court of Iran has also charged them with “corruption on earth,” which could lead to severe punishments such as the death penalty.
On November 9, the regime’s Etemad newspaper reported that Armin and Hatef, the primary and secondary suspects in the Bank Melli University Branch safety deposit box robbery, faced the charge of “corruption on earth” on November 6 from Branch 17 of the Supreme Court of Iran.
According to the report, the two were tried in mid-September by the Tehran Province Criminal Court and sentenced to hand amputation on the charge of “hudud theft” (a category of theft punishable under Islamic law).
The amputation sentences were issued despite the Iranian regime’s commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which explicitly prohibits degrading and inhumane punishments. Hand amputation is considered one of these punishments.
Such punishments violate the principle of human dignity, a fundamental tenet of human rights. Iran remains one of the few countries that applies corporal punishment, including amputation, for certain crimes and has not joined the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
Iranian media reported in June that the robbers at Bank Melli’s University Branch in Tehran gained entry via a backdoor located in the building’s internal parking area. They then cut through a large safe and bypassed its code to access the safety deposit box area.
The lead defendant’s lawyer argued against the “corruption on earth” charge, stating, “Not every action that disrupts public order qualifies as corruption on earth.”
In recent months, those who lost property in the Bank Melli safety deposit box robbery have repeatedly held protests, demanding the return of their belongings.
Despite a rise in theft in Iran, robberies targeting state banks have been rare, with safety deposit box heists being even less common.
