Earlier this Monday, October 11, an inmate was executed in Birjand Prison.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Omid Sarani, a native of Zabol, had previously been sentenced to death on drug-related charges.
According to the last report of the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), between October 8 of 2020 and October 9 of 2021, at least 266 citizens were executed and 90 citizens were awarded death sentence.
As the report points out, Iran’s judicial authorities do not publicly announce over 82% of carried-out executions, dubbed as “secret executions” by human rights organizations.
Sarani’s execution has not been announced by official sources in Iran as of this writing.
Branch 31 of the Supreme Court of Iran recently confirmed the death sentence of political prisoner Shaker Behrouz, who is currently being held in Urmia Prison, despite a strong alibi pointing to his innocence.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Branch 31 of the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence of 33-year-old Shaker Behrouz last Tuesday, October 5. The verdict was confirmed in spite of the alibi statements of 12 witnesses, all of whose testimonies the court refused to hear.
The indictment alleges that Behrouz murdered a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
According to an informed source, security agents threatened the victim’s family’s, who was an IRGC member, to cut their allowance from the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, if they refused to accuse Behrouz.
Another informed source close to the victim’s family also said that the family does not believe he is guilty and are ready to testify to his innocence.
Twelve eye-witnesses signed a statement expressing their readiness to testify that Mr. Behrouz was in his shop when the crime was committed. Despite all the above, the court convicted the defendant without the presence of the family as accusers and hearing of eye-witnesses.
On the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the Center of Statistics of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) has published its annual report , in efforts to sensitize the public about the situation of the death penalty in Iran.
HRANA’s Statistics Center relies on the work of HRANA reporters, as well as a network of independent and verifiable sources. It also incorporates disclosures to the media by judicial authorities announcing or confirming prisoner executions, and as such is exposed to a margin of error representing efforts by the Iranian authorities to omit, conceal, or restrict the collection of such data.
Between October 8, 2020, and October 9, 2021, executions and the death penalty have been the focus of 253 HRANA reports. Over this time period, the Iranian authorities issued the death penalty sentence to 90 individuals and have already carried out 266 executions.
Women account for only 9 of the 266 HRANA-confirmed execution victims this year. In addition, 3 juvenile offenders, under the age of 18 when they allegedly committed the crime they were charged with, were executed.
The report includes a breakdown of executions by capital offense: 55.8% were charged with murder, 33.5% were charged with drug and narcotic offenses, 3.4% were charged with Rape, 4.8% were charged with armed robbery/offenses classified as “corruption on earth”, 1.5% were charged with political or security-related offenses, and 0.74% had unknown charges.
The chart below displays execution numbers by the province in which they took place. According to this chart, Khorasan Razavi had the highest number of executions at 17.7%. Alborz and Sistan and Baluchestan came in second and third, with 13.2% and 9.4% respectively.
The chart below depicts the distribution of executions’ information sources. The chart indicates that 82% of HRANA-confirmed executions were not announced by the official Iranian sources. Undisclosed executions are referred to as “secret” executions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
At dawn on Wednesday, September 22, 45-year-old Ahmad Forouhid was executed in Boroujerd Prison in Lorestan Province.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Iran Human Rights (IHR), Forouhid had previously sentenced to death on a charge of murder.
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. Forouhid has not been announced by any Iranian media or official sources as of this writing.
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.
Shahrooz (Alex) Sokhanvari and the second defendant in the lawsuit were sentenced to death by a branch of the Revolutionary Court on charges of ‘international human trafficking’ and ‘corruption on earth’.
According to HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists, Sokhanvari was arrested abroad last year and deported to Iran from Malaysia. He has been charged by the Iranian judiciary with trafficking women for sexual exploitation.
In this law case, the first- and second-degree defendants, both known as “Alex”, were sentenced to death and 5 other participants were sentenced to 15 years in prison. The verdict of the case is not final and can be appealed in the Supreme Court.
In recent years, several women who had been identified as his accomplices have been arrested and are being held in jail on serious charges.
Iran ranks first in the world in citizen 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.
