Appeals Court; Alireza Farshi Sentenced to Prison

Posted on by . .
Ethnic Minorities, News
Alireza Farshi, Marand, علیرضا فرشی

HRANA News Agency – Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Alireza Farshi, an Azerbaijani-Turk activist, confirming the eight-month prison sentence previously issued by Branch 23 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

According to the verdict, Mr. Farshi was convicted of “propaganda against the regime,” with his social media activity cited as evidence supporting the charge. The initial ruling was handed down in March 2025.

The appellate hearing took place on April 19, 2025. Notably, the court proceedings on March 1, 2025, were conducted in Mr. Farshi’s absence, though his legal counsel was present.

The legal proceedings against Mr. Farshi began earlier in the year. In February 2025, Branch 1 of the Prosecutor’s Office in Baharestan County issued an indictment against him. Subsequently, in April 2025, Branch 4 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Marand County, acting on behalf of Baharestan authorities, conducted an interrogation session.

Alireza Farshi Yekanli, a resident of Marand County, has a history of arrests and judicial confrontations related to his activism on behalf of the Azerbaijani-Turk community.

Two Prisoners Executed in Tabriz Prison

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
Asghar Nouri-Nia, Jolfa, Mehran Zolfi, Tabriz, Tabriz Prison

HRANA News Agency – On April 23, 2025, two prisoners previously sentenced to death on separate drug-related charges were executed in Tabriz Prison.

Iran Human Rights have identified them as Mehran Zolfi, 27, from Tabriz, and Asghar Nouri-Nia, 35, from Jolfa.

According to the report, Zolfi had been detained for four years and Nouri-Nia for five years, both on drug-related charges. They were ultimately sentenced to death in separate cases by the Revolutionary Court.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

In 2024, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran documented 812 cases related to the right to life, including the sentencing of 214 individuals to death and the execution of 930 individuals. Among these, 4 executions were carried out in public. Of those executed, 818 were male, 26 were female, and 5 were juvenile offenders—individuals under 18 years old at the time of their alleged crimes.

Appeals Court Upholds 11-Year Prison Sentence for Hamid Bidar

Posted on by . .
Freedom of Expression, News
AmirKabir, Hamid Bidar, Mahmoud Momtazpour, Tehran Province Court of Appeals, حمید بیدار

HRANA News Agency – The 11-year prison sentence for Hamid Bidar, a graduate of Iran University of Science and Technology, has been fully upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals.

Hossein Taj, Bidar’s attorney, stated that his client received an 11-year prison sentence on charges including blasphemy, insulting the Supreme Leader, and propaganda against the regime. The initial verdict was handed down by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court and was recently upheld in full by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals. According to Taj, five years of the sentence are enforceable.

Hamid Bidar, a computer engineering graduate of Iran University of Science and Technology, was arrested by security forces in Tehran on September 1, 2024.

According to the AmirKabir Newsletter, his arrest was linked to his support for Mahmoud Momtazpour, a dismissed assistant professor at Amirkabir University of Technology.

Previously, in 2013, Bidar was also suspended for two semesters by the university’s disciplinary committee, with the suspension counting against his academic years.

Gelareh Abbasi Sentenced to Prison

Posted on by . .
Freedom of Expression, News
Evin Prison, Gelareh Abbasi, Iman Afshari, گلاره عباسی

HRANA News Agency – Gelareh Abbasi, a political defendant, has been sentenced to 51 months in prison by Branch 23 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the court sentenced Abbasi to a total of four years and three months on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.”

Abbasi was arrested on February 16, 2025, at her home in western Tehran by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and transferred to Evin Prison. She was released from Evin Prison on March 28, 2025, after posting a bail of one billion tomans.

Earlier, in a separate case, Abbasi had been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, to two years and six months in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security.” After serving several months, she was released from Evin in February 2023.

Gelareh Abbasi, 48, is the mother of a young daughter and the head of her household.

Over Three Months in Prison: Ongoing Legal Uncertainty for Atefeh Hassani

Posted on by . .
News, Prisoners
Atefeh Hassani, HRANA, Kachouei Prison, Karaj, Mohammad Hassani

HRANA News Agency – Atefeh Hassani, the sister of political prisoner Mohammad Hassani, has spent more than three months in a state of legal uncertainty at Kachouei Prison in Karaj, with no formal charges yet addressed in court.

A source familiar with her case told HRANA, “It has been over 110 days since Ms. Hassani was arrested. She is accused of membership in anti-regime groups, but her legal case remains unresolved and no court hearings have been scheduled.”

Ms. Hassani was arrested by security forces in January 2025 at her family’s home in Karaj. Following a period of interrogation at a security detention facility in the city, she was transferred to Kachouei Prison, where she remains in custody without due process.

Atefeh Hassani is the sister of Mohammad Hassani, a political prisoner currently held in the Central Prison of Karaj.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Now is definitely not the time to stop reading!

Summons and Arrest of a Sunni Cleric in Kermanshah

Posted on by . .
Freedom of Expression, News, Religious Minorities
Ayat Gholami, HRANA, Kermanshah

HRANA News Agency – Yesterday, April 23, Ayat Gholami, a Sunni cleric, was arrested after being summoned to and appearing before the Special Clergy Court in Kermanshah.

According to HRANA, quoting Kurdpa, Ayat Gholami was taken into custody following his appearance at the Special Clergy Court in Kermanshah. As of now, no information has been released regarding the reasons for his arrest, his place of detention, or the charges brought against him.

Ayat Gholami is the former imam of a mosque in Kermanshah and a teacher at a religious school.

Execution of Three Prisoners in Gorgan, Hamedan, and Arak Prisons

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
Akbar Sheikhi, Ali Morad Kakayi, Arak, Citizens executed, Gonabad, Hamedan, HRANA, Reza Tabarteh Farahani

HRANA News Agency – Over the past three days, three prisoners were executed in the prisons of Gorgan, Hamedan, and Arak.

According to HRANA, on Monday, April 21, Ali Morad Kakayi, 58, was hanged in Gonabad Prison on drug-related charges. He had been arrested in 2021 and was subsequently sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

On Tuesday, April 22, a prisoner named Reza Tabarteh Farahani was executed in Arak Prison. According to information obtained by HRANA, Mr. Farahani had been arrested approximately seven years ago on charges of non-consensual same-sex acts (Lavat) and was sentenced to death by the Criminal Court.

On Wednesday, April 23, Hamedan Prison carried out the execution of a 25-year-old prisoner named Akbar Sheikhi. He had been arrested in 2020 on drug-related charges and later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

None of these executions have been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

In 2024, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran documented 812 cases related to the right to life, including the sentencing of 214 individuals to death and the execution of 930 individuals. Among these, 4 executions were carried out in public. Of those executed, 818 were male, 26 were female, and 5 were juvenile offenders—individuals under 18 years old at the time of their alleged crimes.

At Least Five Prisoners Executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
Ghezel Hesar prison, HRANA, Karaj

HRANA News Agency – At dawn on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, the death sentences of at least five prisoners previously convicted on drug-related charges were carried out in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the identities of the executed individuals have been confirmed as Salahuddin Amoudi, Mahmoud-Ali Naseri, Akbar Mousavi, Amanollah Barahouei, Abdollah Pashtooi.

Based on information received by HRANA, Pashtooi was convicted of Moharebeh (enmity against God) through armed robbery, while the remaining prisoners had been arrested in separate cases on drug-related charges and were later sentenced to death by the judiciary.

Earlier, HRANA had reported the transfer of 10 prisoners to solitary confinement in this prison in preparation for execution.

As of the time of this report, prison officials and responsible institutions have not publicly announced these executions.

According to data gathered by the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj witnessed the highest number of executions in 2024. For a comprehensive examination of the details and statistics surrounding the executions in Iran, refer to HRANA’s report.

Supreme Court Rejects Second Request for Retrial of Death Row Political Prisoner Mehdi Hassani

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
Amin Adel Ahmadian, Behrooz Ehsani Eslamlou, Evin Prison, Iman Afshari, Mehdi Hasani, Mehdi Hassani

HRANA News Agency – Amin Adel Ahmadian, attorney at law, has announced that the Supreme Court of Iran has rejected the second request for retrial filed on behalf of Mehdi Hasani (Hassani), a political prisoner sentenced to death.

Ahmadian stated that the Supreme Court’s Branch 29 rejected the second retrial request without even requesting the case file from Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. He also noted that no judicial body had allowed him access to the case documents.

Hassani’s first retrial request had previously been rejected by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court on February 24, 2024.

On January 26, 2025, Hassani and Behrooz Ehsani Eslamlou were transferred from Evin Prison to Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj under the pretext of receiving medical attention. Their executions were subsequently halted following the registration and temporary acceptance of their retrial requests by the Supreme Court.

In late September 2023, Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani Eslamloo were tried in Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. The court sentenced both men to death on charges including baghi (armed rebellion), moharebeh (enmity against God), spreading corruption on earth, gathering classified information, and collusion against national security. These verdicts were later upheld by Iran’s highest judicial authority and communicated to their lawyers.

Alleged membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) is among the charges brought against them.

Mehdi Hassani, aged about 47, is married and the father of two. He was arrested on September 9, 2022, while attempting to leave the country and was later transferred to Evin Prison.

Two Prisoners Executed in Yasuj Prison on Drug-Related Charges

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
HRANA, Mohammad Ahmadzadeh, Yasuj Prison, یاسوج

HRANA News Agency – On Monday, April 21, the death sentences of two prisoners previously convicted on drug-related charges were carried out in Yasuj Prison.

HRANA has identified the hanged individuals as Mohammad Ahmadzadeh and Behnam (last name unknown).

According to information received by HRANA, both individuals had been arrested on drug-related charges and were later sentenced to death by judicial authorities.

As of the time of this report’s publication, the executions have not been officially announced by prison officials or relevant authorities.

According to data compiled by HRANA, 52.69% of all executions in Iran in 2024 were related to drug-related charges. Notably, only 6% of the executions were officially announced, highlighting a significant lack of transparency. For a detailed analysis of these executions and the associated statistics, see HRANA’s full report.