Tuesday 30 December 2014

Secret Mass-Executions

Secret Mass-Executions of Drug-Convicts in Kerman Prison (Southeastern Iran)

Tens of prisoners have been executed in the past few months in the prison of Kerman (Southeastern Iran) and their executions have not been announced by the official media. Most of the prisoners have been convicted of drug-related charges. It is not known how long these executions have been going on but it is certain that the executions are not limited only to the past few months. Iran Human Rights (IHR) is investigating further details of the executions.

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Mehdi Zabolizadeh (51)- Cemetery of Bam
Iran Human Rights, December 28, 2014: At least 33 prisoners have been executed in the prison of Kerman since August 2014, according to sources Iran Human Rights(IHR) has been in contact with. The prisoners have often been executed in groups of 6-8 at a time, according to these sources. Except for one prisoners who was charged with murder, all the other prisoners had been sentenced to death for drug-related charges.  No executions in the prison of Kerman has been reported by the official Iranian sources in this period.
Human rights groups have reported secret mass-executions of prisoners convicted of drug-related charges in several Iranian prisons in the pas few months. These prisons include Ghezelhesar Prison of Karaj, prison of Bandar Abbas, prison of Zahedan, prison of Urmia and Adelabad prison of Shiraz.
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Mohammadreza Mazloumi (23)- Cemetery of Bam
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Mohammad Gholampour Bami (55)- Cemetery of Bam
IHR strongly condemns executions and urges the international community to react. Mahmood Amiry- Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: “These executions are in violation of international law since drug-related charges are not considered as “the most serious crimes” and  many of the prisoners have been subjected to unfair trials, torture and forced confession. We ask the United Nations to conduct  an independent investigation on the secret mass-executions in the Iranian prisons.”
The following are the dates and names of some of those executed in the period of August 26 to November 14, 2014:
5 executions on August 26: Hossein Shahriari, Abbas Pouryazdanpanah, Hamid Mir , Mohammad Hosseini and one unidentified prisoner (reported by HRANA).
8 executions on September 18: Mohammad Javad Hasan Abadi, Jalil Shahiki, Mohammad Afshar, Alireza Nouroz Mahani, Hasan Sarhadi, Rouhollah Khaleghi, Gholizadeh, Mehdi Zabolizadeh (Picture, above)

6-8 executions on October 7: One of the prisoners was identified as Mohammadreza Mazloumi (24 year old), convicted of murder (Picture, lower panel, right),   the others not identified by name.
2 executions on October 23: None of the prisoners identified by name (reported by HRANA)
6-8 executions on November 4: None of the prisoners are identified by name
6-8 executions on November 14:  Mohammadreza Gholampour Bami (picture, lower panel, left) , the others not identified by name.  4 of the prisoners were Iranian Turks (Northwestern Iran).

Friday 26 December 2014

Two Prisoners hanged in Iran


Two prisoners were hanged in two different Iranian prisons last Wednesday  17. December.edam-isca
Iran Human Rights, December 23, 2014: A 26 year old man was hanged in the prison of Mashhad (Northeastern Iran). The man who was not identified by name, was convicted of murdering his brother in law, reported the Iranian state media. The execution took place in the prison of Mashhad, in the presence of the judges and prison officials. The report didn’t mention whether the family of the murder victim were present, as they normally do.
Another prisoner identified as “A.B.” was hanged in the prison of Qazvin (Western Iran), reported the news website Asr-e-no. The prisoner was convicted of murdering another person identified as “M.K.” and the execution was carried out on Wednesday 17. December.

Thursday 18 December 2014

One Woman and Two Men Hanged in Iran


Iran Human Rights, December 17, 2014: One woman and two men were hanged in the Rajaishahr Prison of Karaj (West of Tehran) early RajaishahrWednesday morning 15. December, according to reports from reliable sources Iran Human Rights (IHR) has been in contact with.
One of the men identified as Hamidreza Khajavi (about 50 years of age) was charged with murder. He was from the ward 2 of Rajaishahr prison.
The two others who were executed today were a woman and a man who has together murdered the woman’s husband. The man was from the ward 6 of Rajaishahr prison and the woman was from the Khorein prison of Varamin. At the present moment  no more information is available about the two individuals.
Official Iranian sources haven’t announced these executions yet.

Friday 12 December 2014

Three Prisoners Hanged in Iran

Three Prisoners, Among Them An Afghan Citizen Hanged in Iran

Iran Human Rights, December 11, 2014: Three prisoners were hanged in the Rajaishahr Prison of Karaj (west of Tehran) yesterday 10. December, reported the Iranian media. edam1
According to the Iranian daily newspaper Shargh, two of the prisoners, identified as “Morteza” and “Mansour”, were convicted of sexual abuse and rape of two young boys. They were scheduled to be hanged publicly yesterday but for some reasons the executions were carried out inside the prison.
Several Iranian news sites such as Tabnak reported about the execution of an Afghan citizen in the Rajaishahr Prison yesterday. The man who was not identified by name was convicted of murdering another man. The victim’s wife was sentenced to imprisonment for complicity.

Woman Executed for Drug-Related Charges in Iran

At least 27 people have been executed for drug-related charges in the first 10 days of December 2014.women
Iran Human Rights, December 10, 2014: A female prisoner was hanged in the prison of Qazvin (Western Iran) early this morning, reported the Iranian state media.
According to the state run Iranian news agency ISCA, a woman identified as “F. Gh.” was arrested for trafficking of  2 kilograms of heroin and 6 kilograms of opium. The report said that “she was smuggling the drugs on behalf of others”.
Drug-related charges account for the majority of the executions in the last 5 years in Iran.  Those charged with possession or trafficking of narcotic drugs are tried by the Revolution Courts, behind the closed doors, and they don’t have the right to appeal.

Wednesday 3 December 2014

18 Executions for Drug-Related Charges in One Day in Iran


 18 people were executed in three different Iranian prisons on Tuesday according to unofficial sources. All the prisoners were convicted of drug-related charges and there were two women and one Afghan citizen among them.
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Iran Human Rights, December 2, 2014: Eleven prisoners were hanged in the Ghezelhesar prison of Karaj (west of Tehran) early Tuesday morning 2. December, reported the human rights activists news agency (HRANA) and the human rights and democracy activists in Iran (HRDAI). All the prisoners were convicted of drug-related charges according to the report. Iran Human Rights (IHR) has confirmed the executions.
HRDAI has identified seven of the prisoners by name and and claimed that there was one woman and one Afghan citizen among the prisoners executed on Tuesday.
HRANA also reported about seven other executions in two different prisons on Tuesday. Three prisoners male prisoners identified as Yadollah Fahimi, Mokhtar Davoudkhah and one female prisoner identified as Marziye Ostavari were hanged in the prison of Urmia (Northwestern Iran). Three other prisoners were hanged in the prison of Bandar Abbas (Southern Iran). These prisoners were identified as Ali Akbar Nouraddini, Alireza Ghorbani and Hossein Shahozehi. All the prisoners were convicted of drug related charges.
Iran is the country with the highest number of executions for drug-related charges. This is despite the fact that drug-related charges are not considered as the most serious crimes by the international law.
Large number of executions in Iran are not announced by the official Iranian media.

Sunday 30 November 2014

Two Prisoners Hanged in Iran

Two Prisoners Hanged in Iran

Iran Human Rights, November 29, 2014: Two prisoners were hanged in two different Iranian prisons.edam-isca
According to Aftabnews, one prisoner was hanged in the central prison of Qom (south of Iran) early Saturday morning 29. November. The prisoner who was not identified by name, was convicted of a murder .
The news website Mizan reported about the execution of one prisoner in the prison of Ardebil (Northeastern Iran). The prisoner who was not identified by name was convicted of participation in possession of 5940 grams of heroin, said the report.

Soheil Arabi’s Death Sentence

Exercising freedom of expression is not a crime”- World Coalition Against the Death Penalty Calls for Removal of Soheil Arabi’s Death Sentence

Iran Human Rights, November 28, 2014: World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) has called for the immediate removal of Soheil Arabi’s death sentence.  WCADP is a coalition of more than 140 international non-governmental organizations from more than 40 countries, including Amnesty International, The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Together against the death penalty (ECPM) and Iran Human Rights.
The  statement which is published on Friday 28. November says:
“Exercising freedom of expression is not a crime”- World Coalition Against the Death Penalty Calls for Removal of Soheil logo_enArabi’s Death Sentence
Soheil Arabi, a 30 year old Iranian photographer, has been sentenced to death for “insulting the Prophet” on Facebook and his death sentence has been upheld by the Iranian Supreme Court. The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) strongly condemns Mr. Arabi’s death sentence and calls on the Iranian authorities to rescind it immediately.
The President of the World Coalition, Florence Bellivier, stated: “Soheil Arabi has been sentenced to death solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. We call for immediate removal of his death sentence and urge the Iranian authorities to release him.”
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the Spokesperson of Iran Human Rights (IHR), a member of the Steering Committee of WCADP said: “Iranian penal law allows death penalty for many non-violent charges such as “insulting the Prophet.” Reversal of these death sentences must be the highest priority of the international community’s dialogue with Iran”.
The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) arrested Soheil Arabi in November 2013. Mr. Arabi  was held in solitary confinement for two months inside IRGC’s Ward 2-A at Evin Prison, before he was transferred to Evin’s General Ward 350, where he is being held now. Branch 76 of the Tehran Criminal Court, under Judge Khorasani, found Arabi guilty of “sabb al-nabi” (insulting the Prophet), for postings Soheil Arabi made on eight Facebook accounts, which the authorities said belong to Soheil Arabi, on August 30, 2014. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence on 24 November 2014.Soheil-Arabi-2
Article 262 of the Iranian Penal Code provides sentence of death for insulting the Prophet of Islam or any of the other grand prophets.
Mr. Arabi’s death sentence is a clear violation of Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to respect the right to freedom of expression.

Young Man (20) Hanged in Public for “Immoral Acts” in Iran Today


Three prisoners were hanged in public two different cities of Khorasan-Razavi Province  today. One of the prisoners was hanged charged with the vague charges of “immoral acts”. Iran Human Rights calls for international condemnation of the recent wave of public executions in Iran.Image-Rasht-ex

Iran Human Rights, November 27, 2014: Three prisoners were hanged publicly in the cities of Mashhad and Joghatai today, reported the Iranian state media. According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars the prisoner who was hanged in Joghatai (a twon near Mashhad) was identified as “M. Gh.” (20 year old), originally sentenced to death for murder (Qesas- retribution)  and for immoral acts. The prisoner was later pardoned by the family of the murder victim, but he was executed for “immoral acts”. The report added that “M. Gh”. has sent request of pardon for immoral acts but his request was not granted by the Province Commission. There are no further specifications of what  “immoral acts” the prisoner was sentenced to death for.
Two other prisoners identified as “Ali M.” and “Ali Gh.” were hanged in Mashhad at 9.15 AM this morning, reported Asr-e-Iran news site. The prisoners were charged with “offences like theft, murder, disruption of order and spreading fear among the people” said the report.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns the new execution wave in Iran. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: “The international community must react to the wave of the executions in Iran. Besides being barbaric and inhumane, the charges used by the Iranian authorities are often vague and many of the executions are arbitrary”.

Three Prisoners Hanged in Iran Today


Iran Human Rights, November 26, 2014:  Three prisoners were hanged in two different prisons in Iran today, 26. November.  According to the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in Qazvin, two prisoners identified as “M” (23) charged with murder, and “M. Sh.” charged with possession and trafficking of 9300 grams of heroin were hanged in the prison of Qazvin (Western Iran). edam1

The official website of Mazandaran Judiciary reported about the execution of a man identified as “Alireza M” today. The prisoner was convicted of murder and was hanged early this morning in the prison of Sari (Northern Iran).
Tomorrow, Thursday, three prisoners are scheduled to be hanged in public in Khorasan Razavi Province

Three Prisoners Scheduled to be Publicly Executed in 48 Hours in North-Eastern Iran

Three Prisoners Scheduled to be Publicly Executed in 48 Hours in North-Eastern Iran

Iranian media have reported about the execution of one man convicted of murder in Mashhad yesterday, and scheduled public hanging of three prisoners on Thursday this week.
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Iran Human Rights, November 25, 2014: Three men are scheduled to be hanged in public in the Iranian province of Khorasan-Razavi (Northeastern Iran) said the Prosecutor of the “Public and Revolution Court” of Mashhad to the reporters today. Quoting Gholamali Sadeghi, the state run Iranian news agency Fars reported that three prisoners convicted of murder will be hanged publicly on Thursday 27. November. Two of the prisoners will be hanged in Mashhad while the third prisoner will be hanged in the town of Joghanai (near Mashhad). The report didn’t identify the prisoners.
Iran is the country with the highest number of public executions. Iran’s practice of public executions has been criticized both by the international community and the civil society inside Iran.

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Recommendations on the Death Penalty

Iran UPR: Recommendations on the Death Penalty Might Have Higher Impact This Time

 On October 8, 2014,  Iran Human Rights (IHR) presented a statement on behalf of the World Coalition against the Death Penalty (WCADP) at the UPR pre-session organized by UPR Info in Geneva. IHR was one of the six NGOs selected to present at the UPR pre-session. The other NGOs were International Federations for the Human Rights (FIDH), Justice for Iran (JFI), Baha’i International Community (BIC), International Campaign for the Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) and Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC). Representatives for several countries and NGOs were present at the pre-session. 
UPR Info Pre-Session in Geneva- Photo by JFI
UPR Info Pre-Session in Geneva- Photo by JFI
Iran Human Rights, October 12, 2014: The pre-session was held about 3 weeks ahead of Iran’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) scheduled to take place on October 31. The UPR is a mechanism of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) that  periodically examines the human rights performance of all 193 UN Member States. It is intended to complement, not duplicate, the work of other human rights mechanisms, including the UN human rights treaty bodies. This is the first international human rights mechanism to address all countries and all human rights.

At its last Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council in 2010, Iran received 29 recommendations on the death penalty from 23 different states; it accepted only three. Moreover, the recommendations on the death penalty represented 23 percent of those made to Iran – a number only surpassed by recommendations made regarding cooperation with international instruments and the elimination of torture and other forms of ill treatment.
Right to left: Dr. Karim Lahidji (FIDH), Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam (IHR, WCADP) and Omid Memarian (ICHRI)
Left to right: Dr. Karim Lahidji (FIDH), Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam (IHR and WCADP) and Omid Memarian (ICHRI)- Photo by: JFI

In the statement the IHR spokesperson Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam emphasized that due to establishment of abolitionist campaigns and increasing discourse on the death penalty within the Iranian society, recommendations  this time might have a greater impact. The statement included recommendations on all aspects of the death penalty, in particular several specific recommendations about public executions, death sentence for drug-related charges and death penalty to the juvenile offenders.

Friday 26 September 2014

Five Prisoners Executed in Iran


Iran Human Rights, September 24, 2014:  Five prisoners were hanged in three different Iranian cities, reported Iranian state media.
According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars, one man was hanged in the prison of Noshahr (Northern Iran) early this morning Wednesday September 24. The prisoner who was identified as “Jaber N.” was convicted of a murder in 2004. His age at the time of committing the alleged offence wasn’t mentioned in the report.
Two other prisoners convicted of drug-related charges were hanged in the prison of Qazvin (west of Iran) early this morning reported  Fars news agenImage-Rasht-excy. The prisoners were identified as “Sadegh Mohammadkhanloo” (33) charged with trafficking of 995 grams of the narcotic substance Crystal, and “Asghar Mahtabi” (35)  charged with possession and trafficking of one kilogram of crack and 200 grams of crystal, said the report.

Two other men, convicted of murder were hanged in the prison of Mashhad (Northeastern Iran). One of the prisoners was an 18 year old boy sentenced to death for murdering another man in 2009. It is not clear whether the prisoner was 18 at the time of committing the alleged offence  or 18 year was his age at the time of execution.  The other prisoner hanged in Mashhad was 27 year old and convicted of a murder in 2010. None of the prisoners were identified by name. The executions were carried early morning Sunday September 21.
Iran Human Rights is investigating whether one of the prisoners executed in Mashhad on Sunday was under 18 at the time of committing the alleged offence.

Iranian Authorities React on Mohsen Amir Aslani’s Execution

Iranian Authorities React to the Reports About Mohsen Amir Aslani’s Execution This Morning

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported today that Mohsen Amir Aslani was executed convicted of “Corruption on earth” and heresy. Iranian authorities have now reacted to this report. mohsen-amiraslani1
Iran Human Rights, September 24, 2014: A high ranking Iranian Judiciary official confirmed today execution of Mr. Mohsen Amir Aslani (37) in Rajaishahr prison of Karaj this morning. Gholamhossein Esmaeili, the Judiciary official, told Mizannews that Mohsen Amir Aslani was executed convicted of rape. He denied that Mr. Aslani’s death sentence was related to his other charges.
Base on the information Iran Human Rights (IHR) has access to Mr. Amir Aslani had in March 2007 been charged with among others  heresy, insulting Prophet Jonah and immoral acts. In March 2007 he was sentenced by sentenced by a the section 31 of Tehran’s Court of Appeal to imprisonment, lashes and economic fines. But later he was charges with “corruption on the earth” for the same charges in addition to charges of rape. According to IHR’s information, Mr. Amir Aslani never confessed to the rape charges and there was not sufficient evidence supporting these charges. IHR calls for  an independent investigation of Mr. Mohsen Amir Aslani’s case.