­­Masha Amini Died in Hospital at Moral Police Custody 

On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-woman who was hospitalized following being arrested by the police for her improper hejab, died at a hospital. Her death sparked widespread condemnation on social media and the reactions of numerous public figures, athletes and artists.

Amini was visiting Tehran from the Kurdistan region with her family. She was stopped by the Morality Police in Tehran and taken to the Vozara Station, where she underwent a stroke for unknown reasons.

An informed source told HRANA that during the arrest, the police told Amini’s brother that she would be released in an hour. However, she was taken to Kasra Hospital after a few hours. Some eyewitnesses leaving the detention facility stated that the detained women’s families who were present at the place and witnessing Amini’s condition began to protest. The police used violence and pepper spray to silence them.”

The Morality Police has a history of mistreating the individuals it collects from the streets. Therefore, people speculate that Amini is a victim of police brutality. Amnesty International has also called Amini’s death suspicious.

Earlier, the Greater Tehran police chief had claimed that Amini was taken to a police station where during an educational class, she suddenly had a heart attack, which her family denied.

Teachers Union Activist Masoud Farhikhteh Sentenced

The Criminal Court of Tehran has sentenced Masoud Farhikhteh, a member of the Islamshahr Teachers Trade Association, to one year imprisonment and 74 lashes, which was suspended for two years.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, Masoud Farhikhteh was sentenced to one year suspended prison sentence and flagellation on the charge of “disturbing public order.”

In the trial, participation in “illegal gatherings” was presented as evidence to support the above-mentioned charge.

On Thursday, May 13, 2022, during the teachers’ protests in various cities in Iran, several protestors including Farhikhteh were arrested. On June 8, Farhikhteh was released on bail until the end of legal proceedings.

One Kolbar Killed, Two Injured in Direct Shooting 

On September 16, 2022, the military forces killed a kolbar (cross-border carrier of goods) and injured two others in a  direct shooting incident at the Nowsud border area In Kurdistan Province.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, on September 16, 2022, the Iranian military shot a kolbar identified as Esmail Abdi, 32 at the border area. Two other kolbars identified as Mokhtar Fattahi, 36, and Hamid Ahmadi were seriously injured.

According to an informed source, Ahmadi was injured in the neck and Fattahi in the arm and both were hospitalized in Kermanshah. Abdi’s body has not yet been delivered to his family.

Woman in Coma in Custody by Hejab Enforcement Causes Uproar in Iran

Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was visiting Tehran from the Kurdistan region was hospitalized due to brain and heart stroke when she was in the custody of Tehran’s Morality Police. The police took her into custody for what they deemed improper hejab. In response to the widespread public reaction on social media, the Greater Tehran police chief claimed that Amini was taken to a police station where during an educational class, she suddenly had a heart attack.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists,  Amini was hospitalized after being assaulted and apprehended by Tehran’s Morality Police.

An informed source told HRANA that Amini is  22 years old and a resident of Saqqez. She had travelled to Tehran with her family to visit a relative. A few days ago, while she and her brother were passing through a street, she was stopped by the Morality Police. They beat her and took her to Vozara Police Station. They told her brother that she would be released after one hour. The police, however, beat her again in the police station and after a few hours, transferred her from the police station to a hospital.

Kurdpa has reported that Amini has undergone a grade 3 concussion and is in a coma. 

In recent months, Tehran’s Morality Police has increased their activities in the streets. 

Rahman Ghaderi Sentenced to Three Years and Three Months

The Piranshahr Revolutionary Court has sentenced Rahman Ghaderi to three years and three months in prison. If the verdict is upheld on appeal, based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, two years and seven and a half months imprisonment will be enforceable.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Rahman Ghaderi, a resident of Piranshahr, was sentenced to three years and three months in prison.

According to the verdict, Ghaderi has been sentenced to two years and seven and a half months in prison on the charge of “collaboration with an anti-regime political party”, and seven and a half months for “propaganda against the regime.”

On February 13, 2022, security forces arrested Ghaderi without showing a warrant and took him to a detention facility in Urmia. At the end of the interrogation process, he was relocated to Naqadeh Prison. On March 12, 2022, he was released on bail.

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Sepideh Gholian Hospitalized Following Hunger Strike

On September 13, 2022, imprisoned civil rights activist Sepideh Gholian was hospitalised following a hunger strike. Gholian went on hunger strike on September 10 as a protest against her imprisonment in exile and away from her city. Today, on September 15, she ended her hunger strike after prison officials promised to address her request for relocation.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, following Gholian’s hunger strike, she was sent to a hospital outside Evin Prison.

An informed source told HRANA that Gholian started a hunger strike when the prison officials refused her requests for relocation to Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz. Gholian has been separated from her family through a long distance between the cities. 

On November 18, 2018, Sepideh Gholian was arrested along with at least 19 others, including members of the Assembly of Representatives of Haft-Tappeh workers, and several workers’ activists by security police in Shush city. She was released on bail on December 18, 2018.

After broadcasting her forced confession as well as some other workers’ activists, including Esmail Bakhshi on state TV, they announced that the “confessions” were extracted under duress. Soon after this announcement, the security police arrested them.

On October 26, 2019, Gholian was released on bail until the end of legal proceedings. On December 14, 2019, she was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment by Tehran Appellate Court.

On June 21, 2020, Gholian began serving her prison term in Evin prison. On March 10, 2021, she was exiled to Bushehr Prison, where she was held until she was granted leave.

Report: Prisoners’ Families Demonstrate as Executions Surge

Since May 2022, the number of executions, especially of prisoners convicted of drug-related crimes has significantly increased. Since the judiciary carries out the executions without prior notice, the new wave has raised concerns among the prisoners’ families, who organized protests in Tehran and Karaj during the past six days. Although the protests have been peaceful, the police have arrested several individuals.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, from May 22 to June 21, the number of executions spiked to 99 cases, four times more than the months before. Executions have remained at this high rate since, causing panic among death row prisoners and their families.

During this period, half of the executed inmates had been convicted of drug-related offences. Unlike murder cases in which the convict is at the mercy of the victim’s family for judgment, the execution of inmates convicted of drug-related crimes is decided by the judicial authorities’ decision.

The families have been gathering peacefully for six consecutive days in Tehran and Karaj. On September 11, the protest turned violent and 30 people were arrested, of which eight currently are kept in detention.

As the figure below illustrates, the judicial authorities have not been transparent as only 39% of the executions have been reported by official sources and media outlets inside Iran so far.

From March 21, 2022 (the beginning of the Iranian year) to September 11, 2022, the Judicial authorities have executed a total of 306 people, including 267 men, 30 women and 30 gender-unspecified individuals. Four of these individuals were under the age of 18 at the time of the arrest. One Pakistani and one Afghan National are among these individuals.

The figure below illustrates the breakdown of executions by capital offence.

Of these convictions, 151 people had been convicted of murder (Qisas or reprisal), 130 of drug-related crimes, 12 of rape, and two of security charges. The charges against 11 individuals remain unknown.

Geographically, 56 executions have been carried out in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Fars Province ranks second with 28 executions.

In the above-mentioned period, the authorities have sentenced 42 defendants to the death penalty.

One prisoner’s spouse expressed to HRANA that the number of executions has increased exponentially in recent weeks and the prisoners live in fear of imminent execution. 

A prisoner who is currently on furlough said the prisoners are fearful and worried about the prospects of speedy Judgements. 

According to the head of State prisons and the Security and Corrective Measures Organization, 45% of prisoners in Iran are jailed for drug-related offences.

Since under international law, drug smuggling does not fall into the category of violent crimes,  the government has been criticized by the Human Rights Organization and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran for the execution of drug-related offenders.

In 2017, the former prosecutor of Tehran, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, announced the reform in drug-related crime laws and promised the reduction of the death sentences and executions. According to the recent report from the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (SPC-HRA), drug-related executions have been reduced, but the number of recent executions is alarming. 

According to the SPC-HRA report, between January 1, 2021, and December 20 2021, at least 299 individuals, including four juvenile offenders were executed. 85 others were sentenced to death. 

The video reportage is a compilation of  26 videos of recent protests.

­­Ali Ensandoost still in Detention after One Month

Former political prisoner Ali Ensandoost is still detained for over a month as he awaits due process. He was recently relocated to the quarantine section.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Ali Ensandoost is still in detention awaiting due process in Langerood Prison in Qom.

On August 13, 2022, security forces arrested Ensandoost at his house. Last week, he was transferred from an IRGC detention facility to Langarud Prison in Qom. According to an informed source, recently, he has been relocated to the quarantine section.

The reason for his arrest and the charges are unknown so far.

Ensandoost had faced arrest and conviction before. On April 28, 2020, security forces arrested him in Rasht for his activities on social media and an interview with opposition media outside the country. He was interrogated in a detention facility until September 2020 when he was transferred to Langerud Prison and held in a ward with prisoners of violent crimes.

The Revolutionary Court of Qom sentenced Ensandoost to eight years in prison on the charges of “collaboration with hostile countries, insulting the Supreme Leader, and propaganda against the regime”. After plea bargaining, the sentence was reduced to four years and six months. On December 26, 2021, Ensandoost was released to serve the rest of his sentence in home detention with an electronic monitoring device.

Baha’is Citizen Jila Shahriari Imprisoned

Jila Shahriari started her sentencing at Evin Prison on September 11, 2022.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Baha’i citizen Jila Shahriari started her sentencing at Evin Prison.

An informed source told HRANA that Evin Prison officials called Shahriari to appear at Prosecutor’s Office to answer questions, but she was taken in.

In September 2016, intelligence agents arrested Shahriari at her house in Tehran. She was released on bail after 31 days of interrogation.

The Tehran Revolutionary Court later sentenced her to five years imprisonment. This sentence was reduced to two years and six months on appeal.

HRANA’s Daily Review of Protests in Iran

On Tuesday, September 13, 2022, at least three protests took place in Iran.

For the second consecutive day, several medical assistants protested before the Ministry of Health in Tehran. The protestors mentioned the flaws in designing test questions for the medical certification exams as one of the reasons for their protest.

A number of citizens who lost their money due to the corruption and fraud in the Tehran Stock Exchange held a protest in Tehran.

A group of the Shushtar Municipality’s staff gathered in front of Major’s office to protest against unpaid wages and premiums for three months.