Death Sentence Issued to Man in Tehran

An Afghan man named Sattar was recently sentenced to death by the Second Branch of the Criminal Court of Tehran Province on charges of murder.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna, the verdict was later upheld by the Supreme Court.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 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 same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence Issued in Yazd

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Tasnim, the Supreme Court recently upheld the death sentence issued in Yazd.

Gholam-Ali Dehshiri, the Chief Justice of Yazd Province, announced a death sentence of a person who was “fortune-teller” on a charge of “corruption”, and said that this sentence had recently been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 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 same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

Inmate Executed in Vakilabad Prison on Charge of Murder

At dawn on Sunday, September 5, a prisoner named Karamat who had previously been sentenced to death for murder was executed in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.

According to  HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna, the sentence was upheld by Branch 31 of the Supreme Court.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 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 same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

Branch 13 of the Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence

Branch 13 of the Supreme Court recently upheld the death sentence of a man.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna, the defendant had been previously sentenced to death for murder by the Fifth Branch of the Criminal Court in Tehran.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 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 same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

 

Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence of Prisoner

The Supreme Court recently upheld the death sentence of a young man named Ehsan.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Rokna news, the man had previously been sentenced to death for murder by the Second Branch of the First Criminal Court in Tehran.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 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 same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

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Aras Amiri Larijani Acquitted after Enduring 3 Years in Evin Prison

After serving out 3 years of a 10 year sentence in Evin Prison, Iranian cultural activist Aras Amiri Larijani was acquitted by the Supreme Court of the charges against her.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Emtedad, Amiri is a student at Kingston University and former employee of the British Cultural Council.

Aras Amiri has been acquitted after enduring three years of her ten-year prison sentence. Ms. Amiri had previously been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran and the sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeals.

She was arrested by security forces in September 2018 after being summoned to the Evin Courthouse, and was transferred to the women’s ward of the prison two days later.

In May 2019, Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Abolghasem Salavati, sentenced Ms. Amiri to 10 years in prison and two years of social deprivation, including bans from work and leaving the country after serving ten years in prison.

The accusation was labeled “espionage” by a spokesman for the judiciary in the public media. This sentence was upheld by the Tehran Court of Appeals in August 2019 in absentia and without the presence of a lawyer.

A grad student in Philosophy of Art, Amiri had been in organizing joint art exhibitions and festivals between Iranian and British artists and had collaborated with the British Council.

Amiri’s family member had previously told the media that Aras Amiri’s cultural interactions were coordinated and supervised by various deputies of the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

Court of Appeals Sentences Keyvan Samimi to 2 Years in Prison

Iranian journalist Keyvan Samimi has been sentenced to two years in prison after a court of appeals overturned the Supreme Court’s  decision to resume Samimi’s case.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Ensaf News, Samimi is the editor of Iran-e- Farda newspaper and a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association.

Mr. Samimi had previously endured six years in prison in 2009 for questioning the 2009 presidential election, participating in protests, and writing articles critical of the Islamic Regime. He is currently being held in Evin Prison, where he has been imprisoned since his arrest on International Workers’ Day in 2019.

Samimi was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Iman Afshari, to three years in prison on charges of conspiracy to act against the security of the country. This verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Ahmad Zargar.

Mahmoud Behzadi-Rad, Samimi’s lawyer, said that the Supreme Court accepted the resumption of Mr. Samimi’s trial, but when his case was sent to the Branch 54 of the Court of Appeals, the decision was reversed.

“The judge did not accept the opinion of the Supreme Court,” Behzadi-Rad said, “and they only reduced the three-year imprisonment sentence to two years.”

Atena Daemi on a Hunger Strike in Lakan Prison in Rasht in Gilan Province

On August 12, civil activist Atena Daemi went on a hunger strike in Lakan prison in Rasht in protest of repeated telephone cuts and prison mismanagement.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, it is said that the head of the prison has not been seen in the prison for about 4 weeks, and his absence has slowed down the release process of many prisoners.

According to an informed source, the frequent interruption of the prison phone raised concerns among Atena’s family members, and her parents had to travel to the Lakan Prison to visit Atena while they were infected with the coronavirus to confirm her well being.

Atena (Fatemeh) Daemi was sentenced to 14 years in prison on May 15, 2015, by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, on charges of conspiracy against national security, propaganda against the regime, and insulting the leadership. After the appeal and application of Article 134, 5 years of prison were enforceable to her.

In 2018, while enduring her sentence in the women’s ward of Evin Prison, she and Golrokh Ebrahimi faced a new case, they were sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran to an additional 2 years and 1 month in prison after applying Article 134.

In July 2020, Branch 24 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Mohammad Reza Amouzad, sentenced Ms. Daemi to two years in prison and 74 lashes for a new lawsuit filed against her while imprisoned. The case was opened by the complaint of the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC against Ms. Daemi.

In March 2021, the Supreme Court overturned a request for a retrial of Atena’s lawyers. Atena Daemi and her family members have also faced numerous other security and judicial cases and pressures. In March 2021, Atena was transferred in handcuffs and shackles from Evin Prison to Lakan Prison in Rasht in Gilan Province.

This is not the young activist’s first hunger strike. Atena Daemi once went on a hunger strike in 2015, which led to health problems and removal of her gallbladder. Her previous hunger strike experience has increased her family’s concern.

Kurdistan Province Court of Appeals Sentences Saman Karimi to Imprisonment

On Saturday, July 17, Branch 4 of the Court of Appeals of Kurdistan Province sentenced Saman Karimi to 9 years in prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Karimi was sentenced on charges of”conspiracy acts against the security of the country”, “membership in opposition groups”, and “propaganda against the regime”.

By applying Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the most severe sentence enforceable to him is 4 years in prison.

According to article 134 of Iran’s penal code, “If the number of offenses that are committed is more than three, the penalty shall not be more than the maximum prescribed punishment provided that it shall not exceed 1.5 times the longest sentence. In these cases, only the harshest prison sentence shall be served.”

Mr. Karimi was sentenced to death in November 2019, but the sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court in September of last year.

Two Prisoners Executed in Urmia Prison Before Supreme Court Reaches Verdict on Their Appeal

On Saturday, July 3, Nasser Azmoudeh and Shahriar Amiri were executed in Urmia Prison, even though the Supreme Court has not yet reached a verdict on their appeal.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the two prisoners had previously been sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

Azmoudeh and Amiri, who had been kept in Urmia Prison since 2018, were transferred to solitary confinement the day before the execution took place.

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. Just this week, the death sentence of a prisoner who was executed 10 months ago was overturned by the Supreme Court.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. 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”.

The executions of Azmoudeh and Amiri have not been announced by Iranian media or official sources as of this writing.