At least 745 prisoners hanged during Rohani’s first year of presidency
17-June-2014
Category: executions
Breathing in Confinement – During the first year of Hassan Rohani’s presidency, at least 745 death sentences have been conducted in the prisons of Iran.
According to the Central Statistics of “Breathing in Confinement”, Rohani’s cabinet is going to be one year old while from June 14, 2013 until today, at least 745 prisoners in various prisons of the country were executed.
Nevertheless, the official media of Islamic Republic of Iran have reported only 319 cases of executions and 437 other reports have been published by human rights activists and human rights media.
According to this report, during the last year 38 political prisoners were executed in various parts of country. 24 of these prisoners were Baloochi activists, 8 Arabs from Ahvaz and also, 5 Kurdish political prisoners were among the executed prisoners. Also, in one case Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani was hanged on charge of supporting MEK.
In one occasion 15 Baloochi prisoners were executed collectively in Chabahar prison and in another collective execution 8 other Baloochis were hanged in Zahedan prison as the revenge of the assassination of the prosecutor of Zabol.
Habibollah Golparipour, Reza Esmaili, Shirko Maa’refi and Samko Khorshidi are also prisoners who were executed with accusation of supporting Kurdish Parties.
In addition, during this timeframe death penalty was conducted about Ahvaz Arab people, including Hashem Shabani Nejhad, Hadi Rashedi, Ghazi Abasi, Abdolreza Amir Khenafereh, Abdolamir Majdami and Jasem Moghadam Panah.
In the last attempt on 13th of June, Intelligence agents informed the families of Ali Chabishat and Seyed Khaled Mousavi, the other political Arab prisoners from Ahvaz, about their executions.
Also, Mah Afarid Amirkhosravi, one of the defendants of the 3 trillion embezzlement case was hanged in Evin prison on 24th of May without his family or lawyer being informed.
According to this report, during the last year 42 people in different cities of Iran were executed in public and at least 19 Afghan citizens were among the executed ones.
However, the highest number of execution, it means 316 people, was the prisoners who have been charged with drug trafficking. 235 prisoners charged with murder, 39 prisoners on charge of rape and two prisoners on charge of armed robbery were executed.
Central Statistics of the “Breathing in Confinement” also announced the death of 27 women in this period, and at least seven teenager prisoners have been among these executed prisoners.
On 2nd of March 2014, the IRIB announced the execution of two men accused of “acting against Sharia Law” in Rasht prison. Some of the human rights activists believe that Islamic Republic executes homosexuals on accusation of “breaking Sharia Law”.
Indeed, the increase in executions during Hassan Rohani’s presidency was criticized strongly by the secretary general of the UN and Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran.
Ahmed Shaheed and three other UN Special Rapporteurs on their latest stance in this regard expressed their outrage at the execution of Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjany, and also, urged the Iranian government to abolish the death penalty forever.