On Monday, December 12, 2022, Qazvin prison officials carried out the execution of two inmates convicted of drug-related crimes. Also, an inmate convicted of murder was executed on December 8 in Maku, West Azerbaijan Province.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on December 8, an inmate identified by HRANA as Shayan Hassanpour (Hassanzadeh), age 23-24, was executed in Maku Prison.
Iran Human Rights Organization also reported that on December 12, two inmates, identified as Abbas Hosseini and Ali Seyyedkhani, were executed in Qazvin Prison.
These individuals, reportedly, were arrested and sentenced to death three years ago. They were executed despite the court’s promise that their execution would not be carried out.
None of the official sources and media outlets inside the country has reported these executions at the time of writing.
Recently, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced student Pouya Mazloumi to five years in prison and additional punishment. Pouya Mazloumi was arrested at protests.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, student Pouya Mazloumi was sentenced to five years in prison on the charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “disturbing public order.”
Mazloumi was banned from leaving the country and from political-civil activities on the Internet for two years as additional punishment.
In late September this year, Mazloumi was arrested by security forces and jailed in the Great Tehran Penitentiary.
The intelligence agents arrested three doctors Jaser Rahmani-Rad (GP), Behnam Ohadi (Psychiatrist) and Homayoun Eftekharian-Nia (Operating Room Technician), in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province. They had travelled from Tehran and Khorramabad to Mahabad.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, three physicians, Jaser Rahmani-Rad, age 34, Behnam Ohadi, age 49, and Homayoun Eftekharian-Nia, age 23, were arrested in Mahabad.
These individuals travelled to Mahabad on November 30 and were arrested four days later by security agents.
The reason for these arrests is still unknown. Their families’ inquiries have yet remained unanswered by judicial/security officials, raising their concerns over their conditions.
On December 10, security forces arrested Baha’i citizen Faraz Haghighatjoo in Shiraz and took him to Adel-Abad Prison. During the arrest, the agents searched his house and confiscated some of his belongings.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on December 10, 2022, Baha’i Faraz Haghighatjoo was arrested by security forces in Shiraz.
The reason for his arrest and the charges are still unknown.
On December 12, Majid-Reza Rahnavard was executed in public in Mashhad. Recently, the Mashhad Revolutionary Court sentenced Majid-Reza Rahnavard, arrested at protests, to death on the charge of “enmity against God.”
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Majid-Reza Rahnavard, age 23, was executed in Mashhad.
An informed source told HRANA the court had already determined his guilt, and he was not allowed to defend himself. Rahnavard’s trial began only ten days after his arrest.
Rahnavard has been accused of killing two Basij militia forces in Mashhad during protests. Nonetheless, the assailant’s face cannot be identified by any CCTV cameras that captured the scene.
Earlier, pro-government mobs assaulted his family’s apartment and broke doors and windows to terrorize his family.
The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced student Farzad Marzbani to three years imprisonment. Marzbani is a student at Payame Noor University-Shemiranat Branch.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Iranian Students’ Union, student Farzad Marzbani was sentenced to three years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion to act against national security.”
On September 28, 2022, Marzbani was arrested by security forces before the Ministry of Interior building in Tehran.
Since the outbreak of nationwide protests, about 18200 people, including journalists, lawyers, teachers, students and civil rights activists, have been arrested. For more details and statistics on the nationwide protest across Iran, read the latest HRANAs comprehensive report here.
Recently, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Mahvin (Roghayeh) Bigdeli, a resident of Karaj, to six months in prison and banned her from leaving the country for two years. Moreover, as additional punishment, she has been forced to attend education courses in a seminary (Hawza) for two months, two hours per day. She was also barred from using a cell phone.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Mahvin Bigdeli was sentenced to six months in prison and additional punishment on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Bigdeli faced other arrests and convictions on prior occasions. On January 11, 2020, she was arrested by Karaj’s security police and then released on a 300-million-toman bail. In June 2022, the Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced her to five years of suspended imprisonment and two years and eight months of exile in Zanjan.
On December 4, 2022, security forces arrested Baha’i citizen Farbod Alavi and jailed him in Evin Prison. The agents searched his house and confiscated some of his belongings.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on December 4, 2022, Baha’i Farbod Alavi was arrested at his house in Tehran.
Alavi was allowed to call his family only after three days.
The reason for his arrest and the charges are still unknown.
According to unofficial sources, it is estimated that more than 300,000 Baha’is live in Iran, but the Iranian Constitution recognizes only Islam as the official religion, in addition to Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Bahai faith is not considered legitimate by the authorities, and the rights of Baha’is in Iran have been systematically violated for years.
The deprivation of the freedom to practice their religion is a breach of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations covenant holds that every person has the right to freedom of religion, freedom of converting religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly.
HRANA – Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old young woman, was arrested by the morality police for the crime of improper hijab. Her arrest and death in detention fueled nationwide protests in Iran. Protesters came to the streets with the central slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” in protest against the performance, laws, and structure of the regime. The following 486-page report is dedicated to the statistical review, analysis, and summary of the first eighty-two days of the ongoing protests (September 17 to December 7, 2022). In this report, in addition to the geographic analysis and the presentation of maps and charts, the identity of 481 deceased, including 68 children and teenagers, an estimated of 18,242 arrested along with the identity of 3,670 arrested citizens, 605 students and 61 journalists or activists in the field of information is compiled. In addition, the report includes a complete collection of 1988 verified video reports by date and topic. The report examines protests across 1115 documented gatherings in all 31 provinces of the country, including 160 cities and 143 universities.
Summary
Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a young 22-year-old woman from Saqqez, Kurdistan was visiting Tehran, when she was taken into custody on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, by the Morality Police officers at the Haqqani metro station in Tehran. The reason for her arrest: not properly observing the strict Islamic dress code. Mahsa/Zhina was taken to the infamous detention center of Moral Security Police known as Vozara.
Shortly after Mahsa’s arrest, she went into a coma with level three concussion, and her partially alive body was transferred to the intensive care unit of Kasra Hospital. Given the track record of the police and Guidance Patrols in mistreating the arrestees and similar previous incidents, with the believe that Mahsa was beaten during the arrest people were outraged.
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Unpersuasive explanations given by the Central Command of the Islamic Republic Police Force (FARAJA) in defense of its actions regarding the death of Mahsa, the past performance of the police force, along with widespread dissatisfaction with the existence of a body called the Moral Security Police, fueled widespread protests in Iran.
The widespread protests sparked at the time Mahsa Amini was announced dead in front of Kasra Hospital on Argentina Street in Tehran, and then quickly spread to the streets despite the intimidating presence of Iran’s security forces. The protests intensified after Mahsa’s burial in a Saqqez cemetery. To the extent that after eighty-two days of nationwide protests between September 17, 2022, to December 7, 2022, they have spread to Iran’s all 31 provinces, 160 cities, and 143 major universities.
The protests did not stay limited to Mahsa’s death, it rather, quickly targeted the Iranian government’s political and ideological foundations. These protests were violently quashed by the anti-riot police and Iran’s militia force (Basij). teargas, pellets, and live ammunition were used in the repression of protestors. This widespread crackdown has led to the death of dozens of people and the wounding of hundreds of protestors.
Despite sever communication restrictions imposed by the Islamic Republic, this report attempts to give a clearer picture of the first 82 days of the protests between September 17, to December 7, 2022. It’s worth mentioning at the time of this report the protests are still ongoing in various forms.
Iran’s Judiciary announced the execution of Mohsen Shekari, one of the people arrested at recent protests, on Thursday morning, December 8, 2022.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Mizan News Agency, on December 8, 2022, Mohsen Shekari was executed in Tehran.
Shekari was arrested at protests in Sattar Khan street in Tehran.
On November 1, 2022, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Shekari to death on the charge of “enmity against God, terrorizing people, injuring a Basij Militia force with a cold weapon, and disturbing public order by blocking the street.”
Subsequently, this verdict was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Iran.
