Inmate Executed for Drug-Related Offenses in Rasht

On Thursday, October 12, an inmate convicted of drug-related crimes was executed in Lakan Prison, Rasht.

The individual who met this unfortunate end has been identified as Hossein Mohammadi, a 52-year-old resident of Bukan County.

Hossein Mohammadi had been incarcerated for 15 years prior to his execution.

At the time of writing, no official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have reported on these executions.

According to data compiled by the Center of Statistics of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), between October 10, 2022, and October 8, 2023, a total of 659 individuals were executed by hanging in Iran, representing a 24% increase compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. Seven of these executions were conducted publicly. Concerningly, many of the defendants were denied access to a fair trial and due process. For details and statistics, read HRANA’s report.

 

Prison Sentence and Ban on Leaving the Country Upheld for Environmental Activist Samko Maroufi

The conviction of Bukan native Samko Maroufi was recently upheld by the Court of Appeals of West Azerbaijan Province.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Center of Democracy and Human Rights in Kurdistan, Samko Maroufi is an environmental activist and member of the Valat Environmental Association. He has previously been arrested and convicted for his activities.

In May of this year, Branch 104 of Bukan County Criminal Court sentenced Mr. Maroufi to one year in prison and a two-year ban from leaving the country on charges of propaganda against the regime.

He was arrested by security forces in Bukan on March 2021 and was released on bail on April 2021.