Category: News

Civil Activist Arsham Rezai in Transferred to Quarantine Ward of Rajai Shahr Prison after Positive COVID-19 Test

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Arsham Rezai, Civil activist Arsham Rezai, Coronavirus, COVID, COVID in Iran, COVID-19 in Iran, Karaj, Rajai Shahr Prison, Rajai-Shahr

HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, has confirmed that yesterday, September 29, civil activist Arsham Rezai was relocated to the quarantine section of Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj after testing positive for COVID-19.

The COVID-19 surge in Iran’s prisons has been a major threat to the health and safety of their inmates, who frequently do not receive timely or adequate medical care from authorities.

Arsham Rezai was arrested on January 7 of 2019 by the regime’s intelligence and security forces. On November 13 of that year, he was released on bail for 2 billion Rial (approx. 8000 dollars).

On February 26, 2019, the Islamic Revolutionary court sentenced Mr. Rezai, without informing the defendant’s attorney that the court session was taking place, to eight years and six months imprisonment on the charges “propaganda against the regime”, ” collusion against national security”, and ” offensive statements against the supreme leader of Iran”. Grounded on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, from the charges, the severest punishment of 5 years was enforceable.

To serve his sentence, on October 18, 2020, he was arrested and transferred to a solitary confinement cell in Rajai Shahr Prison. Finally, he was relocated to a public section of this prison on December 19 2020.

On January 20 of this year, on new charges, the revolutionary court sentenced him to an additional 15 months imprisonment (which was later reduced to 11 months on appeal) and 4 months penal labor.

Two Men Spared from Execution, One Sentenced to Death

Posted on by A MN
Executions, News
Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, Death row, death sentences, Dideban, Karaj, Mahmoud, Meysam, Tehran, Urmia

Recently, two men facing death sentences were spared from conviction while a third was sentenced to death.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Dideban,  one man in Tehran was sentenced to death on a charge of murder on Wednesday, 29 September.

Two men were spared from execution in separate criminal lawsuits, in Urmia and Karaj respectively. Both cases were ruled upon exacting satisfaction from the “avenger of blood”, meaning that the victim’s relative or closest acquaintance agreed to refrain from demanding the perpetrators’ execution.

A man indicted for murder was sentenced to the death penalty. He was detained after one man was stabbed to death in a street fight that took place in a park in Islamshahr, July 2018. This 30-year-old man, named Mahmoud, has denied the charge of first-degree murder and claimed that his actions were self-defense.

According to IRNA, a death-row inmate in Urmia Prison, after 11 years imprisonment, could exact the satisfaction of ‘blood avengers’ with the mediation of elders of the community.

The second spared inmate was a 20-year-old Meysam, who was sentenced to death on a charge of killing a 21-year-old man in a fight. After 5 years, he could exact the satisfaction of the victim’s parent by paying 2.5 billion tomans as reparation.

Two Inmates on Death Row Executed in Dastgerd and Zahedan Prisons

Posted on by A MN
Executions, News
Capital Punishment, Citizen executions, Citizens executed, Citizens sentenced to death, Dastgerd Prison, Death Penalty, Death row, death sentences, Zahedan, Zahedan Central Prison, Zahidan Prison

Yesterday, September 29, at dawn, two inmates in Dastgerd and Zahedan Prisons were executed.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, in Dastgerd, one of the inmates was hanged in a city in Isfahan province. He was previously convicted on drug-related charges, and had spent 20 years in prison until his execution. HRANA identified him as Abasgholi Salehi, aged 42. Reportedly, tomorrow his body will be delivered to his parent.

In addition, 20-year-old Jasin Abdollahi was executed in Zahedan Prison after being convicted of murder. His execution has not yet been confirmed by the regime’s official authorities.

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.

Salar Salehi Arrested by Security Forces in Sanandaj

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News
Citizen arrests, Citizen detentions, Citizens arrested, Citizens detained, Kurdpa, Salar Salehi, Salehi, Sanandaj, Security forces

On Monday, September 27, Salar Salehi, who is from Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province, was arrested by security forces.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Mr. Salehi is said to have been transferred to a security detention center for questioning following his arrest.

As of this writing, the exact whereabouts and the charges against Mr. Salehi are not known.

Inmate Yasin Abdollahi Executed in Zahedan Prison

Posted on by A MN
Executions, News
Abdollahi, Capiral punishment, Citizen executed, citizen executions per-capita, Death row, Execution, Iran, Secret executions, Yasin Abdollahi, Zahedan, Zahedan Prison

Early Wednesday, September 29, inmate Yasin Abdollahi was executed in Zahedan Prison after nine years of imprisonment.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Abdollahi had previously been convicted of murder and sentenced to death. On Monday, 27 September, he was transferred to a solitary confinement cell in Zahedan Prison, where he was held until the execution took place.

Iran has the highest execution rate per capita in the world, according to international organizations. As The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reports, in the period between 1 January 2020 and 20 December 2020, at least 236 people were executed and  95 people were sentenced to death.

Two of the executed were underage and one was carried out in public. As the report points out, Iran’s judicial authorities do not publicly announce 72% of carried-out executions, dubbed as “secret executions” by human rights organizations.

At the time of writing, this execution has not been announced by Iranian media and official sources.

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Inmate Executed in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan

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Executions, News
Abbas-Gholi Salihi, Capital Punishment, Dastgerd Prison, Death Penalty, Death row, Death sentence, Execution, executions, executions per capit, Haram month, Isfahan, Isfahan Province, Salehi

Earlier this Wednesday, September 29, an inmate was executed in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan.

HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, has identified the prisoner as 42-year-old Abbas-Gholi Salehi. According to HRANA, Salehi had previously been sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

According to an informed source, Mr. Salehi was executed while his family and relatives gathered in front of Dastgerd Prison requesting that the sentence be suspended. In a short video posted on social media, the prisoner’s family explains the death sentence should not be carried out in this forbidden (haram) month.

Mr. Salehi was arrested about 20 years ago on drug-related charges when he was just 22 and had been in prison ever since.

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 Mr. Salehi has not been announced by Iranian media or official sources as of this writing.

Salah Hossein-Panah Detained in Baneh

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News, Prisoners
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On Wednesday, September 22, Salah Hossein-Panah was arrested by security forces and taken to an unknown location.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Hossein-Panah is from Baneh City in Kurdistan Province.

According to this report, the security forces searched Mr. Hossein-Panah’s house and confiscated some of his belongings.

As of this writing, the whereabouts of the detainee and the charges against him are unknown.

Azerbaijani Turk Activist Violently Arrested and Transferred to Tabriz Prison

Posted on by A MN
News
Azerbaijani, Azerbaijani Turk activist, Citizen arrested, Citizen detained, Mr. Piri, Piri, Roozbeh Piri, Tabriz, Tabriz Prison, violent arrest

Azerbaijani Turk activist Roozbeh Piri has been transferred to Tabriz Prison following his violent arrest by security forces.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Iran’s intelligence and security police arrested Piri on September 9 in Tabriz, and, as an act of “enforced disappearance”, transferred him to an unidentified location.

According to reports he is currently in quarantine has suffered injuries from being beaten by police during the arrest.

His family has filed a complaint in the prosecutor’s office in Tabriz and asked to bring those who are responsible for beating Roozbeh Piri to justice.

Mr. Piri has already been subjected to unlawful arrest and conviction over his non-violent civil activities. At the time of nationwide protests in November 2019, he was arrested and subsequently sentenced to 10 months imprisonment later on reduced to 91 days on appeal. He was released on July 5 2020 after serving out his sentence.

After a while, a judge in Tabriz sentenced him to pay the fine on a charge of the so-called “spreading lies” on the internet. Reportedly, his brother was also subjected to police harassment and torture.

Thirteen Baha’is Have Been Barred From Higher Education So Far This Year

Posted on by A MN
News, Religious Minorities, Students
Azabadi, Baha'i, Baha'i citizens, Baha'i education, baha'i in iran, Bahais, Freedom of religion, freedom of religiou, Iran Education, Negar Sobhani Azabadi

Tehran resident Negar Sobhani Azabadi has become the 13th Baha’i citizen this year to be barred from higher education on the grounds of her faith.

HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, has identified one more examinee of the university entrance exam who has been rejected due to her belief in the Baha’i faith.

Azabadi received the rejection message when visiting the school website to view her exam results. It read “Rejected due to General ineligibility”, indicating that she had been identified as Baha’i and was thus ineligible to enter the university.

Each year, there are numerous reports about Baha’is who are barred from higher education once detected as Baha’is even on the verge of graduation.

At odds with Iran’s law clarifying the rights to education indiscriminately for all citizens, the enactment of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution of Iran, which oversees to ensure that education and culture remain Islamic, barres Baha’is from taking an occupational position as well as tertiary education.

 

Baha’i Citizen Sheida Taeed Arrested in Ghaemshahr

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News, Prisoners, Religious Minorities
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On Thursday, September 23, Sheida Taeed, a Baha’i citizen living in Ghaemshahr in Mazandaran Province, was arrested in her home by security forces.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Taeed  was taken by security forces to an unknown location following the arrest.

Security forces also raided her home and confiscated a number of her belongings, including her mobile phone, electronics, books, photographs, and manuscripts.

According to an informed source, the security forces initially put Farideh Taeed, Sheida’s elderly mother, in the car as well, and dropped her off somewhere along the road.

Ms. Taeed has a history of detention and conviction. She was arrested in the city of Noor in January of 2013 and was finally sentenced to one year in prison in 2015, which she served out in Babol Prison.

According to unofficial sources, it is estimated that more than 300,000 Baha’is live in Iran, but the Iranian constitution recognizes only Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Because their faith is not considered legitimate by authorities, the rights of Baha’is in Iran have been systematically violated for years.

This 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.