Tag: death sentences

HRA records highest number of death sentences imposed by the Islamic Republic in more than 12 months

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Executions, News
death sentences, ICCPR, Mohammad Ghobadlou

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – HRA has reported a concerning increase in the number of death sentences in the Islamic Republic, reaching a 12-month peak with 35 individuals sentenced to death in January 2024 alone.

According to documentation recorded by the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) statistics team, the Islamic Republic witnessed a significant uptick in the issuance of death sentences in January 2024, with 35 individuals sentenced to capital punishment—the highest recorded in more than 12 months, and a total of 86 individuals executed.

January 2024 was also marked by the heinous execution of Mohammad Ghobadlou. Ghobadlou was executed in connection with the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests. His case gained international attention due to reports of mental illness and trials lacking any semblance of due process.

In Iran, the death penalty is routinely imposed following trials that fall short of due process guarantees, in a judicial system that lacks transparency and impartiality, and for crimes that do not amount to the most serious crimes under international law. The continued use of the death penalty in this manner amounts to a grave violation of the right to life under article 6 of the ICCPR.

Additionally, and noteworthy in the case of Mohammad Ghobadlou, the imposition of the death penalty on individuals with mental disorders is strictly prohibited under international law, as reiterated by Section 3(e) of the UN Commission on Human Rights Resolution (2000/85).

An examination of the execution of death sentences and the issuance of death sentences spanning from January 2023 to January 2024 demonstrates that the number of executions consistently surpasses the number of new death sentences issued. This disparity is evident and suggests an apparent backlog.

Iran continually ranks among the highest in the world in terms of capital punishment despite international calls for the abolishment of the death penalty, in particular for crimes that do not amount to the most serious crimes under international law. It is evident that the Islamic Republic refuses to head the calls of the international community. Members of Iran’s judiciary, complicit in its utter lack of compliance with international human rights standards, must continue to be held accountable through various international accountability mechanisms such global Magnitsky style sanctions regimes that designate judges, interrogators, and members of law enforcement for their involvement in the continued use of capital punishment as a means to victimize and silence.

DateExecution of the death sentenceDeath sentence
Jan-236323
Feb-234615
Mar-233520
Apr-231911
May-2313614
Jun-23499
Jul-236411
Aug-23675
Sep-232412
Oct-237816
Nov-2310811
Dec-2310716
Jan-248635

Political Prisoner Habibollah Latifi Granted Furlough after Fourteen Years Imprisonment.

Posted on by A MN
Prisoners
death sentences, furlough, Habibollah Latifi, Hasan Babaei, Latifi, life in prisopn, Sanadaj

On December 15, political prisoner Habibollah Latifi was granted furlough on bail in the fourteenth year of his life imprisonment.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, Latifi was finally granted furlough for medical treatment. Reportedly, years of refusal by security and judicial authorities has exacerbated his illness. Sanadaj’s Revolutionary Court agreed to the request after vigorous persuasion from Latifi’s family and lawyer.

Latifi was an engineering student in his final year at the University of Ilam when he was arrested on October 22, 2007. After more than three months of torture and solitary confinement, he was sentenced to death by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj on charges of “enmity against God” and “spreading corruption on Earth” by Judge Hasan Babaei.

His lawyers appealed the sentence but in the winter of that year, the Court of Appeals confirmed his death sentence. The verdict was the referred to the Supreme Court for a final appeal where it was upheld.

Finally, in 2015, in the eighth year of his imprisonment, he was pardoned by the leadership and his death sentence was suspended.

Inmate Executed in Ghayen Prison on Drug-Related Charges

Posted on by A MN
Executions, News
Capital Punishment, citizen executions per-capita, Citizen sentenced to death, Death row, death sentences, executions, Ghayen, Ghayen Prison, Ibrahim Rakhshani, inmate executed, Secret executions, Zabol

On Monday morning, October 11, 2021, an inmate who had previously been sentenced to death on drug-related charges was executed in Ghayen Prison.

According to HRANA, quoting The Baloch Activists Campaign, the inmate has been identified as Ibrahim Rakhshani, a native of Zabol.

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 sentenced to death.

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.

This execution has not been announced by official sources in Iran as of this writing.

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.

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Six Afghans Sentenced to Death in Tehran

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Cultural, Ethnic Minorities, Executions, News, Prisoners
Afghan, Citizens sentenced to death, death sentences, First Criminal Court in Tehran, iran death penalty, Secret executions, Tehran

Six men were recently sentenced to death on charges of rape by Branch 7 of the First Criminal Court in Tehran.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna, these men are citizens of Afghanistan.

In addition to the death penalty, two men were sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing the victim’s cell phone.

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.

Inmate Executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj

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Executions, News
Capital Punishment, Citizen executed, Citizen execution, Death Penalty, Death row, Death sentence, death sentences, Karaj, Rajai Shahr Prison, Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj

A man named Jafar was recently executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the prisoner had previously been sentenced to death for murder, and the sentence was later upheld by the Supreme Court.

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.

Death Sentences Issued to Two Men in Tehran

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Executions, Prisoners
Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, death sentences, Farid, iran death penalty, Tehran

Two death sentences were recently issued to male defendants in Tehran.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Shargh newspaper, a defendant named Farid was sentenced to death by the Second Branch of the Criminal Court of a Tehran province for the murder of his colleague.

Another defendant was sentenced to death by a criminal court in Tehran province for the murder of his aunt.

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. 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.

Two Death Sentences Issued in Tehran

Posted on by admin-hr
Executions, Freedom of Expression, Prisoners
Citizen sentenced to death, Citizens sentenced to death, Death sentence, death sentences, Mehdi, moharebeh, Qisas, Tehran

Two death sentences were recently issued in Tehran.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Shargh Newspaper, a man was sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer he committed in April, 2004. Mehdi was sentenced under Qisas (“eye-for-an-eye”),  a pillar of Islamic sharia law .

It took 14 years following the incident until police officers discovered that Mehdi had started a secret new life in the city of Bonab and arrested him. Now, three years after his arrest, Mehdi has been sentenced to death, five years in prison, and 50 lashes.

According to HRANA, quoting Shahrvand Newspaper, another man was sentenced to death in Tehran on a charge of Moharebeh. Moharebeh, loosely translated as “waging war against God”, is a pillar of Islamic sharia law that is typically applied to those suspected of connection to any acts against the state.

Per the report, in late May 2017, detectives from the capital’s police station began investigating the case, and several men were arrested for extortion.

The case was sent from the Theft Court to the Revolutionary Court after a confession was obtained from the accused. Finally, the judge sentenced the leader of the extortionists to death.

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 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.

Prisoner Executed in Mashhad Prison

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Executions
Citizen executed, Citizen execution, Death Penalty, Death row, Death sentence, death sentences, Execution rate per capita, executions per capita, Mashhad, Mashhad Prison

On Wednesday, June 30, a prisoner who had previously been sentenced to death on charges of murder was executed in Mashhad Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Khorasan newspaper, the report does not specify the identity of the prisoner.

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 1st and December 20th of last year, 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 report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary. Human rights organizations call these “secret executions”.