The sentence was issued by Abdolaziz Allah Gholipoor Azar, a judge at the Salmas Revolutionary Court. According to the ruling, Abbasi was sentenced to:
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Aeli was taken into custody by security forces on the evening of April 11. Following his arrest, he was transferred to Saqqez Prison. HRANA has learned that Mr. Aeli is facing a new legal case, which was being processed in the final months of last year.
In 2023, Safa Aeli had already been sentenced by Branch 1 of the Saqqez Revolutionary Court to five years and six months in prison, along with a two-year travel ban.
He was previously arrested by security forces on September 5, 2023, and later released on bail on October 17 of the same year.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the court convicted these 12 lawyers on charges of propaganda against the regime.
Details of the rulings are as follows:
Farzaneh Safari, Amin Shahla, and Mohammadreza Yazdani were each sentenced to 1 year in prison. Half of Safari and Shahla’s sentences, and three-quarters of Yazdani’s sentence, were suspended for 5 years.
Enayatollah Karamati, Kazem Chezgi, and Sahar Dashti were each fined 20 million tomans as a substitute for 3 months and 1 day of prison.
Mehdi Mohammad Hosseinian, Sajad Javadi, and Amirdokht Bahareh Barzegar were each fined 40 million tomans as a substitute for 6 months and 1 day of prison.
Rouhollah Hosseini, Fa’ezeh Seyyedi, and Mitra Izadifar were each fined 20 million tomans.
The same court issued a non-prosecution order for another defendant in the case, Sayyedeh Vajih Ghoreishi. Two other lawyers, Ali Asghar Dashti and Seyyed Jafar Saghravanian, were sent back to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation on separate charges including propaganda in favor of the Zionist regime, insulting the Supreme Leader, and spreading falsehoods.
The verdicts are appealable within 20 days of notification at the Khorasan Razavi Court of Appeals.
These lawyers were previously prosecuted in 2022 on charges such as propaganda against the regime, but their case had initially been subject to an pardon directive.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Shohreh Ghamar has been convicted and sentenced to prison. Her attorney, Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, announced that his client was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to three years and six months in prison on charges of allegedly supporting Israel, and an additional 14 months for “spreading falsehoods.” He added that they have filed an appeal against the ruling.
The lawyer also noted that she had previously been sentenced to 15 months in prison for supporting the 2022 nationwide protests.
Shohreh Ghamar, aged 31, was arrested by security forces on July 26, 2023, over what was described as “posting offensive content on social media.” She was later released on bail.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, executions in Iranian prisons have sharply increased in recent days.
Since the start of the week, at least 26 prisoners have been executed in Ghezel Hesar (Karaj), Shiraz, Kermanshah, Gonabad, Shahrud, Vakilabad (Mashhad), Aligudarz, Bukan, Dezful, Qom, Zanjan, and Sepidar (Ahvaz) prisons. This averages over five executions per day. Vakilabad Prison alone accounted for at least 10 executions in a single day, the highest recorded among these facilities.
On Wednesday, April 9, four prisoners—Bahram Hodavand-Khani, Salar Amir Jalali, Abolfazl Karimi, and another unidentified individual—were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison for separate murder cases. Also on Wednesday, Esmail Dahmardeh, convicted on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court of Gonabad, was executed in Gonabad Prison. Gholamreza Pardakhteh faced a similar fate in Shahroud Prison. Another prisoner, Kambiz Fathi, was hanged in Kermanshah Prison for murder. Two more prisoners, Vahid Ashouri (30) and Afghan national Saud Mirzaei, were executed in Shiraz Prison, both convicted of murder.
On Tuesday, April 8, at least 10 prisoners—including three women—were executed in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad. Five of them—Farhad Shakeri, Abdolhakim Azim Gorgij, Abdolrahman Gorgij, Taj Mohammad Khormali, and Malek Ali Fadaie Nasab—were executed on political-security charges. Four others, including two women, were executed on drug-related charges. HRANA identified two of them as Ahmad Sanaie and Mohammadreza Damideh. Additionally, one woman convicted of murder was also executed at the same facility.
On Monday, April 7, Shahram Goodarzi (36) and Taher Shabani (35) were executed in Aligudarz Prison in separate murder cases. That same day, Seyed Taha Hassani, a prisoner from Bukan, was executed in Bukan Prison, and Hamid Abdouli was hanged in Dezful Prison—both convicted of murder.
On Sunday, April 6, a prisoner named Samir Ghasemi was executed in Qom Prison. He had been sentenced to death by the criminal court for murder.
On Saturday, April 5, Hossein Molazadeh (29), convicted on drug charges, was executed in Zanjan Prison. Simultaneously, Zahir Shamsi (32), a father of a five-year-old girl from Dezful, was executed in Sepidar Prison, Ahvaz. Shamsi had been arrested four years ago for the alleged murder of his cousin.
This recent escalation in executions has sparked serious concerns over widespread violations of the right to life in Iran. Human rights organizations consider Iran’s extensive use of the death penalty to be in stark violation of its international obligations and have called for an immediate moratorium on capital punishment.
The identities of three of them have been confirmed by HRANA as: Bahram Hodavand-Khani, a resident of Varamin; Salar Amir Jalali, a resident of Tehran; and Abolfazl Karimi, a resident of Karaj.
Based on information received by HRANA, the inmates had been arrested in separate cases on murder charges and later sentenced to death by the criminal court. Among them, Bahram had been on death row for 16 years.
On April 8, HRANA had reported the transfer of 10 inmates to solitary confinement in preparation for the execution of their death sentences. Three of them, who were sentenced to death for drug-related offenses, were returned to the ward after their executions were halted.
As of the time of this report, the execution of these prisoners has not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.
According to data gathered by the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj witnessed the highest number of executions in 2024. For a comprehensive examination of the details and statistics surrounding the executions in Iran, refer to HRANA’s report.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the executed prisoner has been identified as Samir Ghasemi. Mr. Ghasemi was arrested on murder charges and later sentenced to death by a criminal court.
As of the time of this report, his execution has not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.
In 2024, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran documented 812 cases related to the right to life, including the sentencing of 214 individuals to death and the execution of 930 individuals. Among these, 4 executions were carried out in public. Of those executed, 818 were male, 26 were female, and 5 were juvenile offenders—individuals under 18 years old at the time of their alleged crimes.
HRANA has identified the executed prisoner as Gholamreza Pardakhteh. He had been arrested on charges related to drug offenses and later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.
As of the time of this report, the execution has not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.
In 2024, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran documented 812 cases related to the right to life, including the sentencing of 214 individuals to death and the execution of 930 individuals. Among these, 4 executions were carried out in public. Of those executed, 818 were male, 26 were female, and 5 were juvenile offenders—individuals under 18 years old at the time of their alleged crimes.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Ghadiani remains in detention.
HRANA has learned that she was arrested by security forces in January of last year. Following her interrogation at one of Karaj’s security detention centers, she was transferred to Kachouei Prison.
A source familiar with Ghadiani’s situation confirmed to HRANA: “The reason for her arrest has been cited as proselytizing Christianity.”
Notably, while Christianity is officially recognized as a minority religion in Iran, security agencies view the conversion of Muslims to Christianity as a highly sensitive matter and respond with severe crackdowns on those involved in religious activism.
The persecution of Christian converts in Iran persists despite Article 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which affirm every individual’s right to freedom of religion, including the right to change their faith and to practice it openly or privately, alone or in community with others.
Family members of two of the executed prisoners confirmed the news in conversations with HRANA, stating: “At dawn today, Tuesday, April 8, the death sentences of five individuals—including Farhad Shakeri, Abdolhakim Azim Gorgij, Abdolrahman Gorgij, Taj Mohammad Khormali, and Malek-Ali Fadaei-Nasab—were carried out in Mashhad Prison.”
Four of the executed individuals were Sunni Muslims, while Malek-Ali Fadaie-Nasab was the only Shia among them. All five had been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges of baghi (armed rebellion).
According to the families—who are still waiting outside Mashhad Prison to receive the bodies of their loved ones—the executions were carried out without prior notice and without allowing a final visit with family members. One family member told HRANA: “The families were only informed of the executions through phone calls.”
The case involved 12 defendants—11 of whom were Sunni and one (Malek-Ali Fadaie-Nasab) Shia. These individuals were arrested in 2015 by the Ministry of Intelligence and transferred to Vakilabad Prison about a year later.
In 2019, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad, presided over by Judge Mahmoud Davoodabadi, sentenced nine of the defendants—including Malek-Ali Fadaei-Nasab, Hamid Rastbala, Farhad Shakeri, Kabir Sa’adat Jahani, Mohammad-Ali Arayesh, Isa Eid-Mohammadi, Abdolhakim Azim Gorgij, Abdolrahman Gorgij, and Taj Mohammad Khormali—to death on charges of baghi through alleged membership in the Salafi groups “Hizb al-Furqan” and “National Solidarity Front of Iranian Sunnis.” (Jebhe Hambastegi Melli Ahlesunnat Iran)
Three other defendants—Mohammadreza Sheikh-Ahmadi, Abdolbaset Avarsan, and Morteza Fakoori—were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for baghi through alleged affiliation with the Salafi-Takfiri group ISIS.
In December 31, 2020, the death sentences of Hamid Rast-Bala, Kabir Sa’adat Jahani, and Mohammad-Ali Arayesh were carried out.
Following a partial reversal of the verdicts by the Supreme Court, the case was sent back for review. In August 2023, Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad, presided over by Judge Ahmadian Salami, re-sentenced six of the defendants—including Farhad Shakeri, Abdolhakim Azim Gorgij, Abdolrahman Gorgij, Taj Mohammad Khormali, Malek-Ali Fadaie-Nasab, and Isa Eid-Mohammadi—to death. The sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court in August 2024.
A source close to the families of the executed prisoners had previously informed HRANA that “this case is riddled with fundamental flaws, and there is insufficient evidence to justify convicting these individuals of the charges brought against them. The use of pepper spray against one of the prisoners is just one example of the torture they were subjected to—torture that has left lasting marks on their bodies even after years.”
