HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists, has received several reports in the last two weeks regarding mass executions in prisons in the north of the country, including Taybad, Torbat-e Jam, and Mashhad prisons.

According to received reports, the executed prisoners were mostly foreign nationals with drug-related charges.Today, Thursday, September 23, nine prisoners were transferred for the execution of the death sentence in Torbat-e Jam prison, of which, eight were executed. The identity of one of them, 22 years old Mohammad Sadeghi, has been verified by HRANA.

Last week, at least seven prisoners were executed in Mashhad prison. Two of the executed men had family ties with Mohammad Sadeghi. Also, at least five have been executed in Taybad prison in recent days, according to reports received by HRANA. Because many of the executed are foreign nationals, information is difficult to obtain about their identities. The identities of these individuals are still being investigated by HRANA.

Iran ranks first in the world in executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 of 2020, at least 236 citizens were executed.

One of these citizens was executed publicly, and two were juvenile offenders. An additional 95 citizens were sentenced to death. According to the same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

The execution of these prisoners has not been announced by the Iranian media or official sources as of this writing, nor authorities have provided transparent information.