Political Prisoner Habibollah Latifi Granted Furlough after Fourteen Years Imprisonment.

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.

At Least Eight Inmates Executed this week in Multiple Prisons, Including Qom, Kermanshah and Isfahan

This week, at least eight inmates were executed in multiple prisons, including Qom, Kermanshah and Isfahan.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Iran Human Rights, two inmates were executed in Kermanshah Prison on Monday, October 11, four inmates were executed in Isfahan on Tuesday, and two others were executed in Qom Prison on Wednesday.

Two inmates who had been convicted of murder were executed in Diezl-Abad Prison in Kermanshah on Monday, October 11. One of the inmates has been identified as 23-year-old Muhammad Latifi. The report suggests that it is likely more inmates were executed on that day than have been confirmed.

Iran Human Rights also has reported the execution of four inmates in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan. These inmates had been convicted for drug-related crimes.

In another report, on Wednesday, October 13, two inmates, convicted of murder, were executed in Qom Central Prison. One of the inmates has been identified as Ali Amrollahi, a native of Afghanistan. He has been imprisoned since four years ago when he was convicted of “honor killing”.

The most recent report of the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) states that 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.

None of these executions have been announced by official sources in Iran as of this writing.