Iranian-American Woman Held in Detention on Alleged Espionage Charges

An Iranian-American woman has been taken into custody under allegations of “espionage,” as reported by Khorasan Newspaper.

Withholding details about her identity and the specific facility of her detainment, Khorasan stated: “In recent weeks, this individual has been arrested, with a history of involvement in NGOs within Afghanistan.”

Several other Iranian-American dual citizens, including Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharqi, Morad Tahbaz, and Shahab Dalili, are presently incarcerated in Iran. According to Khorasan, diplomatic negotiations between the two countries are underway for their potential release.

While the legal pursuit of individuals for espionage isn’t inherently considered a human rights violation, concerns arise regarding the credibility of these allegations. The Iranian regime frequently employs such charges to quell political dissidents, and the lack of transparency in legal proceedings raises further doubts about the legitimacy of these cases.

Prisoner Executed in Mashhad on Charge of Rape

On the morning of May 19, a prisoner who was previously sentenced to death on a charge of rape was executed in Mashhad Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Khorasan newspaper, the 9-year-old child of a foreign national was kidnapped by a young motorcyclist in the outskirts of Mashad in February of last year. The kidnapper abducted the child by threatening him with a knife in front of his mother.

The kidnaper was identified and arrested after detectives found clues that showed he had formed a six-member gang to attack children and teenagers, especially working children.

A special team of detectives with members across operational and intelligence branches managed to arrest all members of the gang. After publishing an unveiled picture of the gang leader in the Khorasan newspaper, several Khorasan residents approached the Iranian Police Criminal Investigation Department, from whom 13 were able to identify the kidnapper and file a lawsuit against him.

Given the importance of the case, Judge Gholam-Ali Sadeghi, Chief Justice of Khorasan Razavi, issued special orders to expedite the investigation. The case was sent to Branch 6 of Criminal Court One to be processed, and the court sentenced the kidnapper to death. The sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court accordingly.

Ghasem. B. was hanged in Mashhad Central Prison on the morning of May 19.

Five Prisoners Escaped from Sabzevar Prison

HRANA News Agency – Five prisoners escaped from Sabzevar Prison in Khorasan Province.These prisoners were charged with armed robbery and clashes with the police and had received sentences ranging from 15 years in prison to the death penalty.

According to reports by Iran’s state media, these five prisoners used a sharp object to break through the ceiling of their prison cell and after tearing down the Isogum layer, escaped through the roof.It has also been reported that the ceiling of the prison cell had become drenched and soggy due to heavy rain.

The prisoners then hid behind the air-conditioning units on the roof and using sheets to make a rope, lowered themselves into the adjacent alley and finally escaped.

Iran’s state media and news agencies have reported that three of these prisoners were arrested ten hours following their escape, and the fourth one was detained by the police after two days.However, the fifth fugitive is still at large.