Supreme Court Confirms Shaker Behrouz’s Death Sentence Despite Evidence Pointing Towards His Innocence

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.

 

 

Four Inmates Executed in Yazd and Kermanshah Central Prisons

Four inmates were recently executed in Yazd and Kermanshah Central Prisons. None of these executions have been announced by official sources in Iran as of this writing.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on Sunday, October 10, two inmates who had previously been convicted for drug-related offenses were executed in Yazd Central prison. The prisoners have been identified as father and son, Hossein and Ramin Dadkhah. They were executed after five years of imprisonment.

Similarly, on Friday, October 8, two inmates, convicted on charges of murder, were executed in Kermanshah Central Prison. One of these inmates, Ismail Soltan-Abadi, had been convicted in the oath ceremony. He was executed after 23 imprisonments, without the notification of his family and hence was deprived of the chance for a final visitation.

Oath ceremony (Ghassameh), whereby the conviction is grounded merely on the swearing of accusers and their relatives (who don’t need to be eyewitnesses) stands in violation of the right to have a fair trial. According to the Islamic penal code, in case of lack of compelling evidence, the judge may hold this ceremony wherein the swearing of 50 people for premeditated murder and 25 people for quasi- premeditated murder will be enough to verdict the accused guilty.

The other inmate, Afshar Fathi, 28 years old, was executed after four years imprisonment on the 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.

 

World Day Against the Death Penalty: Annual Report on Execution in Iran 2020-2021

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.

Click here to download report in PDF format

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.

***

Click here to download the report in PDF format.

For further inquiries please contact Skylar Thompson, Senior Advocacy Coordinator Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) at skylar@hramail.com

Inmate Executed in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan

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.

Inmate Executed in Boroujerd Prison in Lorestan Province

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.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Now is definitely not the time to stop reading!

Wave of Mass Executions Sweeps Prisons in Northeast Iran

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 Sokhanvari Sentenced to Death for International Human Trafficking

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.

Prisoner Executed in Karaj Central Prison

At dawn on Wednesday, September 22, a prisoner was executed in Karaj Central Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Tabnak, the inmate had previously been sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh (rebellion, or waging war against God in Shariah Law), disturbing public security, and murder.

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.

The report does not state the identity of this prisoner.

Inmate Executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj

An inmate whose identity is not known as of this writing was recently executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Javan newspaper, the man had previously been sentenced to death for murder by Branch 12 of the Tehran Criminal Court

Branch 15 of the Supreme Court of Tehran upheld the death sentence and had sent it to the prosecutor’s office branch for the execution of judgment.

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.

Prisoner Executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj

On Wednesday, September 15, a prisoner who had previously been sentenced to death for murder was executed in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj.

According to the HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activist, quoting Rokna, six years after the incident, this sentence was referred to the Judgment Execution Branch after being approved by the Supreme Court, and it was carried out last Wednesday.

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.