Report on Human Rights Violations in Iran from April 20 to May 20, 2024
1-June-2024
Category: executions، Freedom of Expression، Prisoners، protesters، religious minorities، Repression، Women
May 28, 2024
News Categories: Freedom of Speech – Protests – Executions – Religious Minorities – Sexual Minorities – Women – Prisoners – Repression – Workers and Guilds – Kulbar –
Breathing in Confinement
Summary:
– Execution of at least 126 prisoners
– Issuance of death sentences for 9 prisoners and confirmation of death sentences for 2 more prisoners by the Supreme Court
– Arrest of at least 497 citizens, with 2 prisoners dying in prison
– Sentencing of 50 citizens to a total of 208 years, 7 months, and 10 days in prison, along with 750 million tomans in fines; at least 26 citizens were arrested for sentence enforcement
– Death of 35 workers and injury of at least 30 other workers due to work-related incidents
– Over 420 protest actions were held by various social groups
Introduction:
This report was prepared amidst celebrations by the Iranian people in mid-May over the helicopter crash and death of Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic. Raisi was a member of the “Death Committee” in Tehran prisons during the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988. Later, as ahead of judiciary, he played a key role in the execution of prisoners and the suppression of protesters.
The killing and execution machine of the Islamic Republic has claimed the lives of many prisoners in the past month. The governing forces in the Islamic Republic consist of institutions and organizations that, in close cooperation, execute a unified policy solely aimed at the persistence of the ruling system. Therefore, any political or social event can be perceived as a threat to the system’s existence. Thus, the system’s interests are the main determinants of policies, not principles and laws.
Recent events, including the unprecedented and widespread boycott of parliamentary elections by the people, the ridicule of the fake display of severe revenge for the deaths of IRGC commanders in Syria, the highlighting of the regime’s inability despite false claims, the continuation and increase of protests by various social groups, the escalation of economic and social crises, and the cover-up for the war the regime has initiated in the region are the main motives of the sudden increase in the number of executions. These executions are used as a means of controlling society and spreading fear and terror to prevent social uprisings.
Prisoners, in the slaughterhouse of oppression and injustice, pay with their lives for the lack of an independent judiciary and the dominance of politics over justice.
Number of executions from April 20 to May 20:
According to the statistics center of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, (Breathing in Confinement), at least 126 prisoners were hanged in the past month. The executed included 2 political prisoners, 77 prisoners convicted for drug related offenses, and 47 prisoners accused of murder. The number executions represents a 120% increase compared to the previous month. Since March 20 this year, 150 prisoners have been executed.
Political and ideological prisoners Anvar Khezri and Khosro Besharat were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj after more than 14 years of imprisonment. These two prisoners were sentenced to death in a joint case for the murder of a Kurdish cleric, and four of their co-defendants had previously been executed.
Among those executed last month were 7 women and a minor defendant named Ramin Saadat, who was 17 years old at the time of the alleged crime. Out of the 126 executions, only 10 were announced by the state media, while 116 cases were revealed by human rights activists.
The execution of several prisoners named Valiollah Bakhtavar for murder in Tabriz Prison and Fariborz Dadgar for drug-related charges in Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz, as well as the execution of Seyed Amin Mousavi for murder on April 15 in Tabriz Prison, was disclosed by the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran (Breathing in Confinement). The news of the execution of Ali Movahedi for murder in Karaj was later revealed by the Human Rights Organization, increasing the number of executed in April to 24.
Issuance of Death Sentences:
In the past month, at least 10 defendants were sentenced to death, and the death sentences of 2 prisoners were confirmed by the Supreme Court. Among those sentenced to death are three political prisoners named Toomaj Salehi, accused of “corruption on earth,” Mahmoud Mehrabi, accused of “corruption on earth through spreading lies on social media,” and Hatem Ozdemir, a Turkish national, accused of “enmity against God and membership in the PKK.”
Toomaj Salehi, a rapper, was sentenced to death while legally, even under the Islamic Republic’s law, there is no legal basis for such a sentence. His only crime is expressing his views and thoughts in his songs. It is unclear on what legal grounds the charge of “corruption on earth” in his case was based.
“Corruption on earth” in Islamic Penal Law is a general term with various degrees, not all of which warrant a death sentence. In the Islamic jurisprudential definition, “corruption on earth” is an act that disrupts the order and balance on the earth, making it unsuitable for human habitation! (Mr Salihi’s crime is expressing his opinions through singing).
According to Article 183 of the Islamic Penal Code, anyone who takes up arms to spread fear and deprive people of their freedom and security is considered a “mohareb” (enemy of God) and a “mofsed fel-arz” (corrupter on earth). Based on the explicit text of the Islamic Penal Code, the charge of “corruption on earth” against this rapper has no legal validity and must be immediately revoked.
Issuance and Execution of Flogging Sentences:
In the past month, at least sentences of 313 lashes were issued for 5 defendants, and a sentence of 80 lashes for one defendant was carried out in the yard of the Justice Department in Malekan City.
Matin Sepahi and Diyar Bakhtiar were sentenced to flogging for organizing the celebration of the last Wednesday eve of the year (Chaharshanbe Suri) and disrupting public order, and Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to flogging for assembly and collusion against national security.
Flogging is a degrading and cruel punishment that undermines human dignity and constitutes a form of torture. Despite its prohibition by international human rights and civil conventions, it continues to be issued by the judicial courts of the Islamic Republic as a legal torture following religious penal laws.
The Condition of Detainees and Prisoners:
The hunger strike of political prisoners continues on Tuesdays following the execution of Mohammad Ghobadlou. In a letter to protest against the death sentences, the political prisoners wrote: “To make our voices heard, we go on a hunger strike every Tuesday. We chose Tuesday because it is often the last day of life for our fellow inmates who are transferred to solitary confinement a few days before execution” (executions in Ghezel Hesar Prison usually occur on Wednesdays).
In the past month, at least 479 people were arrested. Among them were political activists, former political prisoners, families of justice seekers, journalists, teachers, students, workers, artists, protesters, organizers of Nowruz (new year) celebrations, social media activists, Sunni clerics and seminary students (hawza students), and other citizens.
Following the violent implementation of the so-called Noor plan to control women’s dress code, an unknown number of women and girls were arrested in various cities across the country, and several businesses were sealed.
The extremely poor conditions of prisoners and their deprivation of access to medical and healthcare facilities have become a common method of torture in the Islamic Republic. Prison authorities refuse to transfer prisoners to hospitals and medical centers in order to put pressure on them. This policy sometimes results in the death of prisoners. Last month, Ghader Gorgij died in Zahedan Prison due to lack of medical care and delay in transfer to a medical center; The same happened to Kianoush Valdbeigi, accused of drug-related crimes who died in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.
Sentencing to Imprisonment and Arrest for Sentence Enforcement:
In the past month, at least 50 cases resulted in sentences of imprisonment or fines in the courts, and 26 citizens were arrested for the enforcement of their sentences. In the recent month, at least 208 years, 7 months, and 10 days of imprisonment were issued for at least 50 citizens. Among the convicts were political activists, former political prisoners or those arrested in nationwide protests, justice-seeking families, students, teachers, social media activists, and Bahá’í citizens. In addition to imprisonment, a total of 750 million tomans in fines were issued for 15 Bahá’í citizens.
Work Accidents:
In the past month, due to inadequate safety measures and poor working conditions, at least 35 workers lost their lives at work, and 30 others were injured. The lack of standard safety measures, insufficient training and supervision, inadequate equipment, the prioritization of profit by employers, and improper implementation of safety regulations are major contributors to work accidents. According to official statistics released by relevant institutions, over 2,000 workers lose their lives annually due to work-related accidents. It is worth noting that the statistics do not account for the deaths of informal workers, porters (kulbars), fuel carriers, and others.
Ali Ziaei, head of the Crime Scene Investigation Group of the National Forensic Medicine Organization, announced that in 2023, 2,115 workers (2,094 men and 21 women) lost their lives in work-related accidents. This marks a 3.11% increase compared to the previous years, with 1,900 fatalities. Additionally, there were 27,377 injured workers. Based on these statistics, more than five workers lose their lives daily due to work-related accidents.
Mousa Adibfar, Director-General of the Forensic Medicine Organization in West Azerbaijan Province, stated that last year, 1,403 work-related accidents were registered in the provincial forensic department. Moreover, death certificates were issued for 62 burn cases, 42 hypothermia cases, and 12 electrocution cases. It is worth mentioning that the statistics of construction workers who died due to falls from heights, which constitute the highest number of worker fatalities, are not included in this report. The names and details about these workers are available in the report released by the statistics center of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran (Breathing in Confinement).
Worker Dismissals:
In the past month, at least 267 workers were dismissed. This includes the dismissal of 100 workers from the Pars Paper and Nature Cellulose factory in Shush, 50 workers from the Noor Candle factory in Ghazvin following the closure of the factory for financial problems, 117 municipal workers from Saghez due to organizational crises, and the dismissal of all workers from the Green Star Refinery Company as per managerial decisions. The dismissal of these workers in the country’s severe economic crisis, in some cases, led to worker suicides.
Nationwide Protests:
Over the past month, more than 420 protest gatherings, marches, or demonstrations were held by various segments of society. Continuous strikes by jewellers in protest against the compulsory registration of financial balances and transaction details in the Comprehensive Trade System and the imposition of a tax on the increase in the price of gold (inflation tax), as well as continuous weekly gatherings of retired teachers, social security retirees, telecommunication retirees, steel industry retirees, other retirees, nurses, workers from various sectors, victims of fraud by official institutions, and other social groups, were among the protest movements by various groups of people against poor living conditions and the mismatch of wages with rising prices and inflation rate.
Farmers in Isfahan, after 12 days of continuous sit-ins and protests, succeeded in forcing the authorities to reopen the Zayandeh-Rud River. The farmers celebrated their victory resulting from their persistence by distributing sweets.