A report on the violation of human rights in Iran from November 20 to December 20; At least 248 prisoners have been executed since the beginning of this year (Hijri Shamsi)
24-December-2021
Category: Freedom of Expression، Labor and guilds، Women
22-December-2021
Newsgroup: Execution – Women – Repression – Workers and guilds – Teachers –
Breathing in Confinement: The deteriorating situation of human rights in Iran has raised many concerns, especially at a time when Western countries ignoring the human rights situation in Iran are continuing the nuclear negotiations. The inaction of Western countries has made it easier for the Iranian government to continue and increase the executions and human rights abuses.
Violent clashes with protesters in Isfahan and the use of birdshot guns against them, caused serious injuries to the protesters with at least ten of them lost their sight with these bullets.
The execution of child-defendants as well as political prisoners, are other examples of human rights violations in Iran.
In the last one month, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on human rights violations in Iran. However, since the resolution is not binding, the repressions have been intensified, as the government of the Islamic Republic does not adhere to these resolutions. Therefore, practical and decisive measures are needed to be taken to address the violation of human rights in Iran.
In recent months, the detention of civil and trade union activists, including teachers and students, has been another example of repression in Iran. In mid-December, Rasoul Bodaghi and Amanj Amini, teachers and members of the teachers’ union council, were arrested. Leila Hosseinzadeh, a student union activist and former political prisoner, was also arrested while was on a trip to Shiraz. On a call to her family, Ms. Hosseinzadeh said that she had been beaten during her detention as well as her transfer to Tehran. She also reported that security agents denied her access to her medications. Leila Hosseinzadeh suffers from a serious disease, for which the Forensic Medicine Department in Tehran Province certified that she was unable to endure imprisonment for her previous case.
Last week, Meysam Kazemi, one of the detainees of the uprisings in Behbahan, was transferred from Ahvaz Prison to the city’s Intelligence Office, while his family was unaware of his condition. In recent days, two other members of Mr. Kazemi’s family were arrested by security forces to be temporarily released a few days later.
The number of executions has risen dramatically since the presidency of Ibrahim Raisi, a member of the Death Committee in the massacre of political prisoners in 1988.
In the past one month at least 38 prisoners were executed, showing 90% increase compared to the previous month.
In the first nine months of the new year (Persian calendar), at least 248 prisoners were executed in various prisons in Iran. The statistic refers only to the number of executions reported by human rights activists. So, the actual number of executions is certainly much higher.
Of the 38 executions carried out last month, only four were reported by the state media. And 34 others were performed in secret. In another word, 89% of executions in various prisons across the country were disclosed and documented by human rights activists, indicating that the actual number of executions are much higher.
Among the 38 prisoners executed last month were a child-accused named Arman Abdulali, four women and a political prisoner. The executed prisoners were charged with murder, drug offenses and moharebeh.
In the past month, 19 prisoners were executed for “drug-related offenses”, 17 on “murder” charges, 1 political prisoner on charge of “Baghi” (armed rebellion against the Islamic ruler) and the other one on charge of “Moharebeh”.
The high number of executions of prisoners for drug-related crimes, especially among Baluch citizens, has caused great concern. In the past one month, at least 17 Baluch prisoners were executed on drug-related charges in the cities of Zahedan, Kerman, Shiraz and Isfahan.
The execution of Arman Abdolali and Haidar Ghorbani provoked a huge reactions in Iranian society. Arman Abdolali, the child-accused, under 18 at the time of the alleged crime, was executed in Rajai Shahr Prison, despite the efforts of human rights activists and widespread international protests.
The heinous act of executing children by the government of the Islamic Republic must receive an appropriate response from international organizations. As the inaction of the international community has caused the Iranian government to defend this evil act under the name of Islamic law.
The secret and sudden execution of Haidar Ghorbani shocked the Iranian society and especially the people of Kurdistan. Haidar Ghorbani, a citizen of Kamyaran, was arrested in October 2016. He was subjected to severe mental and physical torture for confessing to killing three members of the Revolutionary Guards. Security forces kept him completely unaware of his family for months. According to Amnesty International, “his conviction is based on torture tainted ‘confessions’ obtained while he was forcibly disappeared.” Amnesty international added: “For nearly three months, his family were denied any information about his fate and whereabouts and did not even know if he was dead or alive”
Issuance and approval of the death sentence:
At least nine death sentences were issued or upheld in the past one month. In two cases, the accused defended themselves on the grounds that the murder was unintentional and accidental, but after their death sentences were overturned twice, the Supreme Court finally ruled that the defendants should be executed.
In another case, Abbas Deriss, one of the detainees of November 2019 protests in Mahshahr, was sentenced to death.
According to Baluch activists, at least four prisoners in Zahedan prisons have been sentenced to death for drug-related charges and are in danger of imminent execution.
Whipping sentences:
Whipping is one of the most inhumane rulings that the Islamic Republic continues to use against the prisoners. In the past one month, sentences of at least 1142 lashes were issued on different charges.
Twelve civil activists in Ardabil, in addition to imprisonment, were each sentenced to 76 lashes.
Statistics on the number of detainees and the sentences issued against them:
Unfortunately, there are no exact statistics on the number of detainees in the last month. During the protests against the water crisis held by the farmers and people in Isfahan, up to 300 arrests were announced, while none of them were identified.
Apart from the number of protestors detained in Isfahan, the number of identified detainees was over 70, for whom in addition to a life sentence in the case of Mohsen Driss one of the protestors in November 2019, a total of 34 years, 4 months and 16 days in prison were issued for political and civil activists.
From November 20 to December 20, 2021, a number of teachers’ union activists were arrested. Some of the detained teachers have been identified as Rasoul Bodaghi, member of the Teachers’ Union Coordination Council and inspector of the Teachers’ Union; Mahmoud Malaki, member of the board of the Bushehr Teachers’ Union; Latif Rozikhah, a Teachers’ Union activist in Jolfa; Asghar Amirzadegan, a Teachers’ Union activist in Firoozabad; Mahboubeh Javid a Teachers’ Union activist in Mashhad.
Among the arrested activists were also other political and civil activists, including Asghar Firoozi, a trade union activist, and a founding member of the Association of Workers’ Rights Defenders .