The commander said that this man, who is accused of killing several of his relatives, a conscripted soldier, and a law enforcement officer in 2020, was sentenced to death three times over by the First Branch of the Criminal Court of Ilam Province.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, in 2016 Mr. Davoodi was transferred to Zabol and then Zahedan Prisons in Sistan and Baluchestan Province to serve his sentence in exile.
Davoodi is currently serving his 18th year in prison.
On May 31, political prisoner Khaled Pirzadeh went on a hunger strike for the second time this year in the Greater Tehran Prison.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Pirzadeh has been denied visitations and leave in the 25 months since his imprisonment.
Earlier this year, Pirzadeh went on a hunger strike following the failure of authorities to fulfill their promise to agree to parole. Pirzadeh ended his hunger strike in March after authorities promised that his demands would be met.
In May of 2019, the political prisoner was sentenced by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, to 5 years in prison, and an additional 2 years for “insulting the leadership”. According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, of the 7 total years, 5 can be enforced on Pirzadeh on the charge of “conspiracy and collusion”.
Khaled Pirzadeh underwent foot surgery in August 2020. His legs and spine were severely damaged during detention and required further surgery and physiotherapy. He was also barred from being hospitalized in December 2020 despite having a heart problem.
On May 30, Iraj Hatami, currently being held in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, went on a hunger strike to protest his continued imprisonment and the fact that previous time served in detention has not been counted towards his 10 year sentence.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Hatami was arrested by security forces in October 2010 and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of “collaborating with a hostile US government”.
Before his arrest, Hatami worked for the Ministry of Defense and spent two years and three months in military detention. Had this time been counted by prison officials, Hatami’s 10 year sentence would have ended last year. Mr. Hatami suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure.
Farzad Samani, a student detained in one of the IRGC intelligence detention centers in Urmia, went on a hunger strike on May 30.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Samani has been on a hunger strike to protest pressure from the IRGC’s intelligence services and the extension of his and Sakar Eini’s imprisonment for the sixth consecutive time.
The undergraduate student was arrested in his dormitory at Kharazmi University in Karaj in December 2020, and was later transferred to the IRGC Intelligence Detention Center in Urmia.
So far, no information is available on the charges against Samani and Eini.
On Tuesday, June 1, political prisoner Hossein Hashemi went on a hunger strike in the Greater Tehran Prison.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Hashemi is one of the detainees from the November 2019 nationwide protests.
Per the report, Hashemi was taken from the ward under the pretext of going to interrogation, but was then transferred to the 4th section of the Greater Tehran Prison, which holds prisoners accused of violent crimes.
It is said that Mr. Hashemi’s transfer took place following a verbal argument with Eliassi, the supervising prosecutor of the Evin court. Eliassi had previously threatened to move Hussein Hashemi to a place where he would regret his actions.
Tehran resident Abolfazl Ghasali, currently serving out a sentence in Evin Prison, has been on a hunger strike since May 27.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Ghasali demands to be granted leave of absence during the COVID-19 outbreak, release on parole due to family’s financial problems, and a retrial.
Ghasali has had several nosebleeds since the day he started the hunger strike. The prisoner is also said to have suffered heart and lung problems during his detention due to poor nutrition and poor prison conditions. He also went on a hunger strike in December last year to protest the failure to address his needs.
In 2018, Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, sentenced Ghasali to a total of 7 years in prison on charges of “Gathering and colluding and disturbing public order with the intention of committing a crime against national security”, and “insulting the Supreme Leader”.
3 years and 6 months of imprisonment are enforceable under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Baha’i citizens Vahid Dana and Saeed Abedi have been temporarily released on bail from Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.
Per the report, the two citizens were arrested by IRGC intelligence agents on April 28 and had been in detention up until yesterday’s release.
Khabat Mafakheri, a citizen of Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province, was recently sentenced to 4 years suspended imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists (HRA), quoting Kurdpa, Mafakheri was arrested in early August 2020 and released on bail in mid-December of that year. According to the report, Mafakheri was notified of the verdict in the past few days and was charged with collaborating with one of the opposition parties.
Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of Baha’i citizens Mona Mehrabi, Elham Karampisheh, Afsaneh Yadegar Ardestani, and Ehsanullah Yadegar Ardestani. The four citizens were previously sentenced by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to 3 years in prison each.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Branch 16 of the Court of Appeals of Khuzestan Province upheld the conviction of a labor activist Maziar Seyednejad. Seyednejad had previously been sentenced to three years in prison on charges related to his membership in an opposition group.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Aftab News, the case of a citizen who was sentenced to 99 lashes and two years of exile in an area with a brutal climate for having an extramarital affair has been referred to a court of equal rank in Tehran.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights explicitly prohibits the use of degrading and inhumane punishment such as flogging.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Baloch Activists Campaign, on May 29, Sunni cleric Abdul Samad Ijbari, the director of the Quran Education School in Hassanabad village of Zabul province, was summoned to the Zabul city intelligence office in Sistan and Baluchestan province and was interrogated.
The report states that the Sunni cleric was summoned following the presence of Mohammad Othman Qalandarzahi at the Hassanabad Mosque. The reason for the summons and the accusations against Ijbari are not yet known.
Hosseini, who is serving a seven-year sentence, was beaten, insulted, and humiliated by prison officials for refusing to wear prison uniforms, handcuffs, and shackles last November.
In May of 2019, Reza Mohammad Hosseini was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to 16 and a half years in prison on charges of conspiracy, insulting the leadership, illegally leaving the country, illegally entering the country, and disobeying the orders of agents.
The verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Ahmad Zargar in May 2020.
Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment will be imposed on him on charges of conspiracy and collusion.
On May 29, retired teacher, union activist and member of the Iranian Women’s Voice Association Mahboubeh Farahzadi was arrested.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists (HRA), quoting The Free Union of Iranian Workers, Farahzadi was released on bail later after the charges were explained to her by Branch 7 of Evin Court.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on May 29, Shadegan resident Karim Sameri was arrested by security forces after he filmed a funeral and poetry night held for the child of a famous local poet.
On May 28, Arsalan Kamalzehi, son of Kamhan, was arrested by security forces in the city of Mehrestan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Baloch Activists Campaign, the report states that Kamalzehi was arrested for inviting people to boycott the presidential election. As of this writing, no information is available on the charges against him or where he is being held.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Soran Sharifian, a resident of Buchan County working in one of the county clinics was arrested by security forces and taken to an unknown location on May 24.
An informed source said that the citizen was arrested without a court order and that the security forces confiscated some of his personal belongings, including his mobile phone, computer, and books. Despite the pursuit of Mr. Sharifian’s family, the location of the detention and the charges against him are unknown.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) , 13 citizens were recently arrested in Astara and Ardabil following protests and clashes between residents. The report did not specify the identities or whereabouts of the detainees.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting RASANKNEWS, Mohammad Nahtani, Mohammad Naroui, Rahim Safarzehi, Ahmad Gergij, son of Aziz, and Younes Gergij, son of Nawab Khan, were arrested by security forces in the village of Shahrabad, Mashhad.
These citizens were beaten and violated at the time of arrest and their homes were searched without court order. According to local sources, a few other citizens whose identities are still unknown were detained in the village as well. As of this writing, their whereabouts and the reasons for their detention are unknown.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna, the chief officer of the Iranian Cyber Police of Qom announced the recognition and arrest of an Instagram page admin for what he called the “publication of unusual images”. The admin was handed over to judicial authorities after the investigation was completed.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Iran Human Rights (IHR), Mr. Yousef Pirastvan and Ms. Pirastvan (first name unknown) were a married couple at the time of their arrest.
An informed source said that Mr. and Ms. Pirastvan were arrested 7-8 years ago on the Qazvin-Karaj highway on charges of carrying 380 kilograms of drugs and were sentenced to death in their first court session.
According to international organizations, Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per-capita. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) reported that between January 1st and December 20th 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.
More than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary. Human rights organizations call these “secret executions.”
At the time of writing, their execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
According to the HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna news, death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court for two defendants who were sentenced under the Qisas (loosely translated as eye-for-an-eye) principle of Shariah Law.
The sentence was issued after 37-year-old Meysam, a shopkeeper, was stabbed to death in Varamin in Tehran.
In a separate incident, according to the Javanonline News, a defendant was sentenced to death for murder under the Qisas principle by the criminal court in Tehran province.
The victim’s wife and two murder suspects, all suspected of orchestrating the killing, were also sentenced to prison time.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Berier’s lawyer Saeed Dehghan wrote in a note on his social media that Benjamin Berier has been found guilty on charges of spying and spreading propaganda against the system. His other two charges of drinking and spreading depravity were dropped.
According to Dehghan, photographing forbidden areas, and asking the question “Why is the hijab mandatory in the Islamic Republic but optional in other Islamic countries?” are the reasons for the accusation of spying and propaganda against the regime.
Berier’s lawyer previously told HRANA, “Despite the ambiguities and contradictions in his charges against Mr. Berier, his case has not been allowed access to a lawyer thus far, which is a catastrophe.”
Mr. Dehghan also told HRANA that translational errors from a particular French publication have exacerbated the suspicion among officials.
“In a news story published by the French newspaper Figaro, Berier’s use of the common word “drone” has been misinterpreted as a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle)–Mr. Berier is a tourist who used a ‘helicam’ for photography,” Dehghan said. “The use of this word by the newspaper Figaro has caused this misconception by some media. Figaro also reported Mr. Berier is a French Iranian citizen while he actually is a French citizen.”
