Nearly 10 months after the execution of Khedr Ghavidel in Urmia Prison, his death sentence has been overturned by the Supreme Court.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Ghavidel was executed in September 2020 while his case was being processed by the Supreme Court.

A source close to the family of the executed prisoner told HRANA: “A few days ago, Ghavidel’s family was invited to the Urmia Prosecutor’s Office, and they were informed about this issue. The prosecutor told Ghavidel’s family that you could file a case and receive the ransom of the executed prisoner.”

In a similar situation, on Saturday, July 3, the death sentences of two prisoners, Nasser Azmoudeh and Shahriyar Amiri, were carried out in Urmia Prison in a situation where their case has not yet been heard by the Supreme Court.

The lack of a fair and transparent trial process in the Iranian judiciary, especially in cases that lead to irreversible sentences such as the death penalty, has long been criticized by human rights organizations.

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 (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.

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”.