Execution of at least 6 prisoners in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj; Tehran prosecutor confirmed one
28-May-2022
Category: executions
May 25, 2022
Newsgroup: Execution –
Breathing in Confinement: At dawn on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at least six prisoners sentenced to death for “murder” or “moharebeh through armed robbery” were executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj. Tehran prosecutor confirmed execution of one prisoner.
According to “Breathing in Confinement”, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, at dawn on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at least six prisoners were executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.
As per the reports, Ali Montazeri, Vahid Mianabadi, Ali Nosrati, Gholam Hossein Zeinali, Amin Arab and Abbas Bitarfan were the prisoners executed on Wednesday in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj.
Another prisoner named Awad Mohammadi, returned to the ward after receiving a respite from “blood owners”.
On May 21, in order to serve their death sentences on charges of murder, Ali Montazeri, Vahid Miyababadi, Ali Nosrati, and Gholam Hossein Zeinali had been transferred to solitary confinement from Dar al-Quran ward in Rajai Shahr Prison.
Along with the above-named prisoners, Amin Arab, a prisoner accused of “moharebeh through armed robbery,” was also transferred from Ward 1 of Rajai Shahr Prison to solitary confinement. He had been taken to hospital the day before his execution for his deep wounds following self-injury. He however, was executed despite his severe injuries.
Referring to the execution of a prisoner named “R-A”, the Prosecutor’s Office in Tehran issued a statement saying that he had been arrested on charges of “moharebeh through armed robbery.” The prisoner is likely to be Amin Arab.
Abbas Bitrafan, imprisoned in Andarzagah 3, Hall 7 of Rajai Shahr Prison, was also executed on charges of “murder” along with the above-mentioned prisoners. He also had been transferred to solitary confinement on May 21.
According to an informed source: “At the age of 19, while he was drunk, Abbas Bitarfan, born in 1999, got into a fight with a person and killed him. After eight days, however, he reported himself to the police, but in the trial, he could not prove that the murder had taken place under the effect of alcohol.”
It should be noted that on May 21, Breathing in Confinement warned of the imminent execution of seven prisoners who had been transferred to solitary confinement for their death sentences to be carried out.
According to the annual report of the Statistics Center of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, at least 383 prisoners were executed during the past Persian Year (March 20, 2021. – March 20, 2022), of whom only 34 were reported by the state media, and the rest were carried out in secret.