But if human beings don't have basic rights, you can start justifying punishment for anything. This is the country that uses this logic to put gay people in jail, or tell women they have to cover their hair.

I'm not saying they never had basic rights. I'm saying they lose those rights when they commit a crime that takes those exact same rights away from another.

What you're advocating is the rule of the majority, and this always ends in oppression. That's what human rights are about, they guarantee that every human beings are equals and enjoy the same rights. And that doesn't mean being soft on crime, it means putting criminals in jail, not hurting them on purpose.

It has nothing to do with oppression. It has to do with the fact that many victims are NOT being treated as equals, due to the behavior of violent criminals. It has to do with their government deciding to ensure that both victim and criminal have been treated as equals, and in this case, that requires bringing the criminal down to the level of his victim.

I used to be like you. I was a social worker, I tried to fight the injustices of this country and I used to emotionally take on the impossible problems of the world. I used to think that all people in the world would behave the same civilized way if you take away their oppression, their negative environment, and their socioeconomic stress. After a little bit of maturing and a large dose of reality, it's clear how naive that is. Humans are selfish creatures, it is bound in our DNA as an evolutionary trait designed to keep us alive in dangerous and stressful situations. Humans will put themselves first, always. We are extremely lucky to live in a society where there is structure in place to keep that selfishness at bay in a civilized manner. Iran does not have the structure in place. Like I've stated over and over, it is naive to think the same principles apply/work in a society not as developed (read: evolved) as ours.