A Statistical Report on Human Rights Violations in Iran in July 2024
2-August-2024
Category: ethnic minorities، executions، Freedom of Expression، Iran's Uprising 2022، Labor and guilds، Prisoners، religious minorities، Sukhtbar
August 1, 2024
News Group: Freedom of Speech, Protests, Execution, Religious Minorities, Ethnic Minorities, Sexual Minorities, Arrests, Pensioners, Women, Prisoners, Suppression, Sukhtbars, Uprising 2022, Workers and Unions, Children.
Breathing in Confinement: Human rights violations in Iran continued in July. This month, the judicial authorities paused executions for two weeks because of the early presidential elections. However, exactly one day after the election, the executions resumed and escalated in various prisons.
The Statistics Center of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran publishes its monthly report on human rights violations in Iran for July.
Summary of Human Rights Violations in July 2024
- Execution of at least 29 prisoners.
- Issuance of death sentences for 16 prisoners and confirmation of the death sentence for another prisoner by the Supreme Court.
- At least 189 citizens were arrested.
- Deaths of 4 prisoners while in prison.
- Issuance of prison sentences totaling 312 years, 6 months, and 29 days, along with fines amounting to 227 million and 900 thousand tomans for 75 citizens by the revolutionary courts.
- Arrest of at least 18 citizens for the implementation of their sentences.
- Issuance of 4653 lashes in 39 cases, 36 involving political prisoners.
- 19 workers died and at least 40 workers were injured due to work-related accidents.
- Dismissal of at least 200 workers.
- More than 200 protest movements held by various groups of people.
Execution of the Death Sentence in July 2024
According to the Statistics Center of Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran (Breathing in Confinement), at least 29 prisoners were hanged in July. Two weeks after the unprecedented reduction in the number of executions due to the presidential election, a new wave of executions resumed throughout the country.
In the last month, 2 political prisoners were executed. Jamshid Idris Zehi, a Baloch prisoner accused of acting against national security and killing a Basij commander, was one of these executed prisoners. Daniyal Esmaili was also hanged for defending against an attack by IRGC security forces on Larshad village, as well as for the accusation of killing an IRGC member. Fourteen prisoners were executed in connection with drug-related crimes, 12 prisoners were executed for murder, and one prisoner was executed on the charge of rape.
Among those executed was a female prisoner, Mrs. Mahmoudi Nia, who was hanged for murdering her fiancé, to whom she was forced by her family to marry. Additionally, another prisoner was hanged in front of his 7-year-old child, who had been taken to the scene in hopes of obtaining a pardon from the victim’s family.
Last year, according to the annual statistics recorded by the Statistics Center of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran (Breathing in Confinement), at least 848 people were executed in prisons across the country.
Issuance of Death Sentences:
In July, at least 16 prisoners were sentenced to death, and the death sentence of one prisoner was approved by the Supreme Court.
A political prisoner and labor activist named Sharifeh Mohammadi was sentenced to death by the first branch of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht on charges of rebellion against the Islamic Ruler through membership in one of the opposition groups.
In the past month, seven prisoners were sentenced to death for murder, one prisoner in connection with drug-related crimes, two prisoners for armed robbery, and five prisoners for rape.
Issuance of Whipping Orders:
In the past month, at least 4,653 lashes were ordered for 39 citizens, including 36 political prisoners. The following political prisoners were each sentenced to 148 lashes by Branch 1148 of Tehran Criminal Court 2, headed by Judge Jabar Javadi Rami, on charges of disturbing prison order as well as destruction of prison property during the fire in Evin Prison: Sina Mirzaei, Mohammad Sobhan Mouzan Zadeh, Ayyub Emamizadeh, Ahmadreza Konani, Sasan Zamani, Mohammad Garavand, Saeed Khodapour, Alireza Vali, Mohammad Hossein Moradian, Masoud Hosseinzadeh, Reza Haji, Nima Mohammadi, Alireza Aslami, Amir Hossein Yousefvand, Meisham Moradian, Sobhan Hayatpour, Seyed Mohammad Hossein Mousavi, Qasim Mohammadi, Irfan Zarif Ibn Kazem, Jalal Nasrollahi, Gholamhassan Hashemi Siavashani, Masoud Parchami, Hamidreza Nazer, Hossein Behzadi.
In another case, the following individuals were sentenced to 74 lashes each by the same branch for disrupting prison order and destruction of prison properties during the fire in Evin Prison: Mohammad Ali Delkhasteh, Seyyed Milad Abulvafaei, Mohammad Khan Mirzaei, Kamran Nadali, Alireza Nazari, Seyed Ali Mousavi, Majid Karimi Fatah Abad, Hassan Malekshahi, Ashkan Kafi, Omid Astaneh, Rahman Alipour, Ali Sadeghi Shirsawar.
The cases of four other defendants in this case, named Loghman Aminpour, Maisam Dehbanzadeh, Majid Roshannejad, and Reza Salmanzadeh, who were each sentenced to 148 lashes, were announced in June.
Additionally, a political prisoner named Omid Bakhtiari was sentenced to 74 lashes by the Criminal Court in Dehgolan on charges of participating in the nationwide uprising in 2022. The sentence of 40 lashes for a journalist named Salahuddin Khalaj Asadi on charges of insulting a government official was confirmed by the Court of Appeal in Central Province. A prisoner was also sentenced to 99 lashes by Criminal Court 1 of Tehran Province for rape.
Detention of Citizens and Death of Prisoners:
In July, at least 189 people were arrested. Among the arrested were political activists, former political prisoners, retired teachers, justice-seeking families, social media activists, artists, participants in protests, heads of Baloch clans, and other citizens facing various charges.
According to Bushehr police commander Hamid Susani, four people were arrested for “writing anti-government slogans and vandalism” following several incidents of destruction and setting fire to advertising banners. Details about the arrests, including the identities and whereabouts of the detainees, have not been disclosed.
The Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic also announced the arrest of several citizens in connection with opposition groups, including the Mujahedin (PMOI). This announcement mentioned the arrest of “six nuclei,” but did not specify the number of citizens arrested in this context.
According to ISNA, quoting Asghar Jahangir, 113 citizens were arrested on Friday, July 5, during the second round of the presidential elections.
In addition to arbitrary and illegal arrests, the conditions for prisoners in Iranian prisons are extremely inhumane. Authorities of the Islamic Republic use poor prison conditions as a means to pressurize and torture prisoners. Denial of medical care and refusal to transfer prisoners to hospitals or doctors outside of the prison when required is a common method of torturing prisoners.
Last month, four prisoners died in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz, and 15 other prisoners were transferred to the hospital. It is reported that the deaths and hospitalizations were due to intoxication, following medication errors.
Sentencing to Imprisonment and Detention for Implementation of Sentences:
In the past month, at least 75 political cases resulted in imprisonment or fines, and 18 political convicts were arrested to enforce the issued sentences. The total prison sentences issued amounted to 312 years, 6 months, and 29 days. Political activists imprisoned in Evin Prison, who were accused of disrupting prison order and destroying public property, were sentenced to further imprisonment and whipping. Among the convicts were teachers’ union activists, labor activists, a lawyer, ethnic activists, and Christian converts.
Several other defendants also received fines totaling 227,900,000 tomans. Additionally, five Baha’i citizens were issued fines amounting to 186,300,000 tomans (in addition to imprisonment). Arash Nabavi, a Baha’i citizen, was sentenced to confiscation of property in addition to imprisonment and fines.
Several political activists, labor activists, and journalists were also sentenced to fines totaling 46,600,000 tomans.
Seventeen political convicts, including seven women’s rights activists, were also arrested to serve their prison sentences.
Labor Accidents:
Due to the lack of adequate safety measures and poor working conditions, at least 19 workers lost their lives in work accidents, and 40 others were injured. The absence of standard safety measures and protective equipment, insufficient training and supervision, employers prioritizing profit over safety, and inadequate monitoring of the correct implementation of work safety rules are significant factors causing labor accidents.
According to official statistics published by relevant institutions, more than 2,000 workers lose their lives due to work-related accidents every year. This statistic does not include the deaths of informal workers such as Kulbars and Sukhtbars.
Ali Ziyai, the head of the crime scene investigation group of the country’s forensic organization, announced: “In 2023, 2,115 workers (2,094 men and 21 women) lost their lives in work accidents, which shows an increase of 3.11% compared to the same period last year with 1,900 casualties. The number of injured workers was 27,377. In other words, more than 5 workers die every day due to work accidents.”
Dismissal of Workers:
In July, at least 2,000 workers of Mammoth Company, the largest manufacturer of containers, trailer floors, conexes, advanced refrigerators, trucks, and vans in the Middle East, were dismissed under the pretext of workforce reduction.
Nationwide Protests:
During the last month, more than 200 rallies, marches, or protest movements were held by different groups of people. The strike of thousands of workers from contracting companies in the oil, petrochemical, and power plant industries in more than 123 companies, which started on June 19, continued this month. The workers demand the removal of contractors from the oil, gas, and petrochemical fields, the implementation of a 14-day work and 14-day off schedule, an increase in wages, the payment of salaries equal to other employees of the oil company, and the payment of job benefits.
Weekly demonstrations and gatherings of retired teachers and other retirees, along with the retirees of the social security organization, telecommunications, and steel company, continued in protest against poor living conditions and low salaries, as well as the disproportion of salaries with the inflation rate, poverty, high prices, and other demands. Workers from different labor departments, drivers, victims of fraud, and other groups of people held rallies and protest movements against poor living conditions and the lack of attention to their demands.
The every Tuesday hunger strike of political prisoners, which started after the execution of Mohammad Ghabadlu, continues in prisons across Tehran, Karaj, Khorramabad, Khoi, Mashhad, Naghadeh, Saqqez, Tabriz, and Ardabil. Political prisoners announced in their statement: “In order to make our voices heard, we go on hunger strike every Tuesday. We have chosen Tuesday because often, this is the last day of the life of our fellow inmates who are transferred to solitary confinement for execution in the previous days.