Tag: HRANA

Death Sentence of Naser Bakrzadeh Overturned for the Second Time by the Supreme Court

Posted on by . .
Executions, News, Prisoners
HRANA, Naser Bekrzadeh, Urmia prison, Urmia Revolutionary Court, ناصر بکرزاده

HRANA – The death sentence of Naser Bakrzadeh, a political prisoner held in Urmia Prison, has once again been overturned by the Supreme Court. Bakrzadeh had recently been sentenced to death for the second time by Branch 2 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court.

Based on information obtained by HRANA, Bakrzadeh’s death sentence was recently overturned by the Supreme Court, and the decision was officially communicated to him on Wednesday, October 29. The political prisoner, who is being held in Urmia Prison’s political ward, is now awaiting the scheduling of a new hearing and the designation of a new court branch to review his case.

In September 2025, Branch 2 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court had sentenced Bakrzadeh to death on charges of “espionage for Israel” for the second time.

In November 2024, he had initially been sentenced to death by Branch Three of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia on charges of “espionage for Israel and collaboration with Mossad intelligence services.” That ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court in April 2025, which referred the case to another branch for reconsideration.

Naser Bakrzadeh, about 26 years old, was arrested in January 2024. He was held for a period in the IRGC’s intelligence detention facility in Urmia, where he was subjected to interrogation. According to a source close to his family, this process involved violations of his basic rights, including being denied contact and visits with his family.

Report on the Execution of a Prisoner in Malayer Prison

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
HRANA, Malayer, Mostafa Afshar

HRANA – At dawn on Monday, October 27, a prisoner previously sentenced to death on murder charges was executed in Malayer Prison.

The identity of the prisoner executed at dawn on Monday, October 27, has been verified by HRANA as Mostafa Afshar.

According to information obtained by HRANA, Mr. Afshar had been arrested on murder charges and later sentenced to death by the Criminal Court.

As of the time of this report, prison authorities and responsible institutions have not officially announced the execution.

In 2024, according to 812 reports compiled by HRANA, the Iranian regime executed 930 individuals in its prisons—marking the highest number of executions in the past 12 years. Despite the scale of these executions, prison officials and other relevant authorities publicly acknowledged only 6% of them, highlighting the regime’s lack of transparency and accountability.

Two Prisoners Executed in Kerman Prison

Posted on by . .
News
HRANA, Kerman prison

HRANA News Agency – At dawn on Wednesday, October 29, two prisoners were executed in Kerman Prison. Both individuals had previously been sentenced to death by a criminal court on charges of murder.

HRANA has confirmed the identity of one of the executed prisoners as Ahmad-Reza Sharifi. Both individuals had earlier been arrested on murder charges and later sentenced to death by the criminal court.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been announced by prison officials or other relevant authorities. In 2024, only 6% of executions were announced by official bodies or domestic media outlets. Over the past five years, 77% of executions have gone unreported—commonly referred to as secret executions.

Number of Executed Prisoners in Adelabad Prison of Shiraz Rises to Five

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
Adelabad Prison, HRANA, Mohammadreza Nazari, Musa Mohammadi, Shiraz

HRANA – With the identification of two additional prisoners executed on Sunday, October 26, at Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, the number of people executed in that prison on the mentioned date has risen to five.

HRANA had previously reported the execution of three prisoners in this prison on Sunday and had confirmed the identity of one of them by the surname Dehghani. Now, HRANA has confirmed the identities of these two as Mohammadreza Nazari, 31, from Shiraz, and Musa Mohammadi, 29, from Tabriz.

Based on information received by HRANA, Mr. Nazari and Mr. Mohammadi had previously been arrested in separate cases on charges of murder and later sentenced to death by criminal courts.

Further details, including the identities of the other two executed prisoners, are still under investigation by HRANA.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been announced by prison officials or relevant authorities.

Prisoner Executed in Taybad Prison

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
HRANA, Taybad Prison, Younes Zamani

HRANA – At dawn on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, the death sentence of a prisoner previously convicted of murder was carried out in Taybad Prison.

HRANA has identified the prisoner executed this morning as Younes Zamani. According to information obtained by HRANA, Mr. Zamani had been arrested on charges of murder and later sentenced to death by the Criminal Court.

At the time of this report, the execution has not been announced by prison officials or judicial authorities.

In 2024, according to 812 reports compiled by HRANA, the Iranian regime executed 930 individuals in its prisons, marking the highest number of executions in the past 12 years. Despite the scale of these executions, prison officials and other relevant authorities publicly acknowledged only 6% of them, highlighting the regime’s lack of transparency and accountability.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Now is definitely not the time to stop reading!

Supreme Court’s Retrial Leaves Behfar Lalezari’s Five-Year Prison Sentence Unchanged

Posted on by . .
Freedom of Expression, News
Behfar Lalezari, Evin Prison, HRANA, بهفر لاله زاری

HRANA – The prison sentence of Behfar Lalezari, a political prisoner held in Evin Prison, remained unchanged after the Supreme Court accepted his request for a retrial and referred the case to an equivalent branch. Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeals has again sentenced him to five years in prison in its new ruling.

Based on information received by HRANA, after the Supreme Court accepted the retrial request, Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, acting as an equivalent branch, reissued Mr. Lalezari’s previous five-year prison sentence.

A source close to the family of this political prisoner confirmed the news to HRANA and said: “This new ruling has been issued even though the judge of Branch 39 of the Supreme Court had declared in his opinion that no actual criminal act had taken place in this case. The individuals involved merely exchanged views and conversations opposing the political system. He emphasized that the appropriate charge in this case would only be ‘propaganda against the regime,’ punishable by three months to one year in prison. The charge of ‘assembly and collusion against national security’ was deemed unlawful.”

It should be noted that during the past year, two previous requests for retrial by this political prisoner had been rejected.

Mr. Lalezari had previously been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, to four years in prison for “assembly and collusion against internal security” and one year for “propaganda against the regime,” totaling five years of imprisonment. The verdict was fully upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals.

Behfar Lalezari was arrested by security forces at his private residence on September 18, 2023. After seven days in solitary confinement in the Security Police’s detention cells, he was transferred to Evin Prison.

This political prisoner, who suffers from multiple health problems, has so far submitted nine requests for medical furlough, all of which have been denied by prison authorities.

Pardon and Sentence Reduction Granted to 115 Security Prisoners

Posted on by . .
News, Other
Asghar Jahangir, HRANA

HRANA – The spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary announced that the Supreme Leader has agreed to the conditional pardon and sentence reduction of 115 individuals convicted on security-related charges. According to the spokesperson, this process will continue until late December, when the final number of pardoned individuals will be officially announced.

According to HRANA, quoting IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting), the Judiciary’s spokesperson provided details regarding the number of prisoners granted conditional pardon and sentence reductions.

On Tuesday, October 28, Asghar Jahangir stated that Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, had so far approved the conditional pardon and commutation of sentences for 115 security prisoners on the occasion of the birth anniversaries of the Prophet of Islam and the sixth Shia Imam.

Mr. Jahangir added that this process will continue until the end of December, when the final figures will be made public. He also promised that with the inclusion of additional cases, a greater number of security prisoners will benefit from this pardon.

Earlier, in September 2025, state media reported that the Supreme Leader had approved the Judiciary Chief’s proposal for the pardon and reduction of sentences for certain convicts. Official news agencies clarified that this pardon only applies to prisoners in so-called “security” cases whose sentences were issued at least five years ago and who have not engaged in any “anti-security” activities or statements during that time. Furthermore, the person’s sentence must not yet have been fully executed, a condition that effectively excludes many political and ideological prisoners.

In addition, a wide range of offenses, including “security-related crimes,” espionage, and collaboration with hostile states,” were explicitly excluded from eligibility for the pardon.

A Prisoner Executed in Semnan Prison

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
HRANA, Safar Ali Rezaei, Semnan prison, صفر علی رضایی

HRANA – On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, the death sentence of a prisoner previously convicted on drug-related charges was carried out in Semnan Prison.

HRANA has identified this prisoner as Safar Ali Rezaei.

Based on information obtained by HRANA, Mr. Rezaei had been arrested earlier on drug-related charges and later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

As of the time of this report, the execution of this prisoner has not been announced by prison officials or judicial authorities.

According to HRANA’s report, in 2024, over 52 percent of executed prisoners had been convicted on drug-related charges. Over the past ten years, individuals convicted of drug trafficking have accounted for 40 percent of all executions. Unfortunately, HRANA’s statistics show no progress in reducing executions for drug-related offenses.

By Order of the Military Court: Ghodratollah Jooyar Sentenced to Prison

Posted on by . .
News, Prisoners
Ghodratollah Jooyar, HRANA, Ilam, قدرت الله جویار

HRANA – Ghodratollah Jooyar, a 33-year-old resident of Tehran and an employee of the Parchin military zone, has been sentenced by the Military Court of Tehran Province to 12 years in prison. He has been held in custody since June 20 on several charges, including insulting the Supreme Leader and attempting espionage.

A source close to the family confirmed the news to HRANA, stating: “Mr. Jooyar, an employee of the Parchin military zone, was tried in October 2025 by Branch 3 of the Tehran Military Court on charges including insulting the Supreme Leader, attempting espionage, and offenses related to drugs and alcohol. According to the court’s verdict, he received a total of seven years in prison for his political and security-related charges, and five years for the other offenses.”

The same source added: “Ghodratollah Jooyar is currently being held in a military detention facility in Tehran. He was arrested on June 20, 2025, at his home by agents of the Intelligence Protection Unit of the Parchin military zone, without a judicial warrant. Since his arrest, he has been denied contact with his family and lawyer.”

Ghodratollah Jooyar, 33 years old, is a native of Ilam and a resident of Tehran.

Execution of Three Prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison of Karaj

Posted on by . .
Executions, News
Ghezel Hesar prison, HRANA, Karaj, Sobhan Zamani

HRANA – On October 22, three prisoners were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison of Karaj. These individuals had previously been sentenced to death on murder charges.

HRANA has identified one of the executed prisoners as Sobhan Zamani, who was hanged at dawn on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.

According to information obtained by HRANA, all three prisoners had previously been arrested on murder charges and later sentenced to death by the Criminal Courts.

The state-run Hamshahri newspaper identified another of the executed prisoners as “Shahab” and reported that “this prisoner killed his friend on July 30, 2023, allegedly over an honor-related motive. He was arrested a few days later in one of the cities of Khorasan Razavi Province. During the trial, the defendant stated that the victim, his longtime friend and drug supplier, had entered his home a few days before the incident and attempted to assault his sister. The defendant later encountered him in the street, leading to a fight in which he killed him.”

According to HRANA’s statistics, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj carried out the highest number of executions among all Iranian prisons, with 150 inmates hanged. This figure has nearly doubled compared to the previous year, a deeply alarming increase that underscores the escalating use of capital punishment in Iran.