Report on human rights violations in Iran last year
27-March-2022
Category: executions، Freedom of Expression، Labor and guilds، Prisoners
Introduction
The following report is the conclusion of yearlong efforts of the colleagues of Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran (Breathing in Confinement), which has been provided on the basis of the direct and indirect information collected from numerous human rights sources in the Solar Hijri year of 1400 (corresponding to the period between March 21, 2021, to March 20, 2022). The details have been published on a daily basis on the Breathing in Confinement website, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran.
In summary, over the past one year, the Islamic Republic of Iran has executed at least 383 prisoners, most of whom were charged with drug and murder. Repression has intensified in Iran since the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi, one of the main perpetrators of the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988. In the past one year, more than 2006 people have been arrested, and sentences of over 1,190 years and 3 months and 29 days in prison have been issued for the political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, workers, as well as the civil and social media activists. In addition, last year, sentences of 4,255 lashes were handed down to the citizens on various charges.
However, most of the death penalties, arrest warrants and floggings sentences remain unreported in the state media and given the fact that human rights activities are prohibited in the country, both human rights activists and affected families have had many difficulties in reporting human rights violations. Therefore, the actual figures are thought to be much higher than those reported.
Human rights violations in Iran are widespread and are committed in various forms and ways. The present report, however, only deals with the death penalties and arbitrary arrests, as well as the imprisonment and flogging sentences.
We hope that with the cooperation of human rights activists, and those who feel responsible for the human rights of our compatriots, we will be able to publish the news of human rights violations and hence help to prevent these violations in the situation of censorship and repression.
The Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran (Breathing in Confinement) welcomes your support and cooperation. We will be happy to publicize the news and information you provide
Summary of executions carried out over the past year
Execution is an irreversible punishment where it is not possible to compensate for errors or mistakes of the issuing judges. The death penalty has also been criticized for a variety of other reasons, for which it has been abolished in many countries.
However, in the Penal Code of the Islamic Republic, the death penalty is used as one of the tools and methods of exerting power with the intent of intimidating the society.
Death penalties in Iran are issued under following categories: a) Qisas or retribution, b) Hadd and c) Ta’zir.
- Execution under the concept of Qisas: Although this category of execution is carried out in cases of murder and is based on the complaint of victim’s relatives, but beyond the matter of plaintiffs and convicts, for death penalties to be carried out, the permission of the Supreme Leader is an essential requirement. Executions are therefore, used as a tool to spread terror in society and affects all its members. This punishment is widely implemented on the basis of flawed and unjust laws.
From a religious point of view also, this punishment had been used in the circumstances of the traditional and old societies. Whereas in developed world with the existence of the alternative punishments and new definitions of human rights, its implementation is absolutely inappropriate.
- Execution under the concept of Hadd: For the offences punished under this category, death sentence has already been fixed in Sharia and cannot be reduced. These include sexual offences such as adultery and sodomy, as well as so-called crimes against religion and against Islamic society, including moharebeh and apostasy.
- Execution under the concept of Ta’zir: As the death penalty has not been fixed for the offences under this category, determination of the applicability of execution for these crimes is at the discretion of Sharia judge.
It goes without saying that Ta’zir and Hadd, and issuing death sentences under these concepts for instance for moharebeh and apostasy, leaves the judges openhanded to apply their personal opinion and interpretation in their judgments. Therefore, it is legally possible to increase the use death penalties where the government is in threat of being destabilized or overthrown.
During the last Solar Hijra year, according to the figures published by the Statistics Center of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, with verifiably recorded names of convicts, at least 383 death sentences have been carried out, and at least 110 death sentences have been either issued or upheld by the Courts of the Islamic Republic.
Last year, the highest number of executions took place in March (February 20 to March 21, 2022). In recent days, at least 24 prisoners were executed in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz on charges of “murder” and “drugs.” All executions in the Adelabad Prison were carried out in secret, and the actual numbers are probably higher than the recorded figures.
According to the above chart, the lowest number of executions was carried out in June. The chart shows that the number of executions drops sharply in June, concurrently with the presidential election in Iran. After this short period, however, the figures rise again and reach their maximum in month of March.
Earlier, the head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Ejei, announced his intention to finalize the situation of in death row prisoners by the end of this year. The high number of executions in Shiraz can be seen in relation to his remarks.
The chart below shows the number of death sentences issued or upheld in the past year, divided by month:
The chart below shows the statistics on issued death sentences in comparison with the executed death sentences divided by month in the previous year:
Most executions in Iran are carried out in secret, so the number of executions is undoubtedly higher than what human rights activists have reported.
Of the 383 executions in the past year, only 34 were reported in the state-run media, and news of the remaining executions was made public through the efforts of human rights activists, the executed prisoners’ families, or other prisoners.
The chart below compares the number of secret executions with the executions reported in the state-run media divided by month in the past year:
Over the past year, most executions were related to “drug” and “murder” charges. Four executions, however, carried out on political prisoners, including Haidar Ghorbani, who was executed in Sanandaj Prison on December 19, 2021. In a statement, the UN human rights rapporteurs, Javaid Rehman and Morris Tidball-Binz condemned the execution of Mr. Ghorbani. They stated that “the Islamic Republic of Iran executed Mr. Ghorbani in secret, on the basis of overbroad provisions, following a deeply flawed process, and while his case was still under consideration by the Supreme Court. ” In the context of continuing protests and widespread dissatisfaction with the authorities, they worried that such an arbitrary execution had been carried out to “spread fear”.
Political prisoner Abdul Basit Rigi was also executed in Zahedan Prison on January 17, 2022, on charges of murdering Judge Karimi and collaborating with an opposition group.
Regarding the issued death sentences, the death sentence of political prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafaee for instance, was issued by Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad on charges of “corruption of earth” through arson and deliberate destruction of “special places” as well as cooperation with the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization.
In addition, in the past year, two prisoners in Arak were sentenced to death for “Sab al-Nabi”.
Last year, at least 11 women were executed on various charges, including murder.
Furthermore, at least two child convicts named Sajjad Sanjari and Arman Abdul Ali, under 18 at the time of the alleged crime, were among those executed last year, and their death sentences were carried out despite widespread domestic and international protests.
Abbasgholi Salehi, convicted of drug offences, was executed in Isfahan Prison on September 29, 2021, after spending 20 years in prison and despite having been acquitted of his charges.
In mid-March, the number of executions in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz, dramatically increased. According to human rights activists, the judiciary in Shiraz had a decision to execute at least 52 prisoners sentenced to death who had been transferred for this purpose from Biranvand Prison to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. As the executions were carried out in secret, the exact number and timing of the executions are not known.
After the news of some of these executions were public, security forces threatened both the families and the prison staffs to avoid releasing any information regarding the executions in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.
Brief summary of the statistics on detentions and arrest warrants
During the past year at least 2006 activists were arrested including political, civil and labor activists, as well as teachers’ union activists, social media activists, dissidents, and Baha’i citizens, all of whom have been identified by their names and other details. These figures are apart from the statistics of detainees whose names are unknown.
In addition, 354 people received prison sentence or their sentences were upheld on appeal. Overall, the convicts were sentenced to 1190 years, 3 months, and 29 days in prison. Besides these, some prisoners were sentenced to life imprisonment.
A brief summary of the widespread human rights violations in Iran over the past year
The followings are example of human rights violations happened last year in Iran: The arrest and conviction of Baha’i citizens in various cities across the country; Detention of at least 30 people for attending International Labor Day; Detention of some family members of the protesters killed in November 2019 uprisings (Aban martyrs), because of seeking justice; Arrest and conviction of labor activists; The suspicious death of Shahin Naseri in solitary confinement in the Greater Tehran Prison, who was the only witness in the case of Navid Afkari; Detention of several lawyers; Detention of several women’s rights activists; Arrest and conviction of a number of Christian converts; Arrest of several teachers’ union activists after the teachers’ nationwide protests, as well as prison sentences for some of them; Arrest of nearly 300 farmers and protesters in Isfahan in November 2021; Death of Adel Kianpour following his hunger strike in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz; Death of Baktash Abtin, poet, filmmaker and member of the Writers’ Association of Iran, because his late transfer to hospital after he had captured Covid-19 in prison; The unexpected death of Omid Mousavi, one of the detainees of the November 2019 protests, due to a stroke at the age of 22, just five months after his release from prison; At least two cases of confiscation of personal properties belonged to political prisoners, Ms. Roghayeh Soltani, and the imprisoned couple, Fatemeh Muthanna and her husband Hassan Sadeghi; Confiscation of personal property of the Baha’i citizen, Sheida Taeid, to the benefit of Execution of Khomeini’s Order (EIKO).
Summarized reports on floggings sentences in the past year
During the past year, sentences of at least 4,255 lashes were handed down to the convicts of various charges. These include but not restricted to a women rights activist; Some of political prisoners; Two students who had protested the downing of a Ukrainian plane; The labor activist, Ismail Gerami; Several civil rights activists defending the rights of Tork minority; Economic activists; The labor activist and rapper, Kamyar Fakur; The lawyer of Amirsalar Davoodi; And a man who had stolen 3 packs of peanuts for his children.
In September 2021, Hadi Attarzadeh’s death following being flogged in Ahar Prison, drew attention to this inhumane torture.
All these happen in Iran, while the use of inhuman and degrading punishments is prohibited by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention against Torture.
Breathing in Confinement, in a report in months of February, has discussed this inhuman and degrading punishment from the legal point of view.
Summary of other forms of human rights violations in Iran over the past year
Sacrificing people with Covid-19 began with banning the import of foreign vaccines by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and continued with the delays in vaccinating people in later stages. This can be considered a crime against humanity.
Other examples of human rights violations in Iran were as follows:
Ongoing killing of Kulbars (good transporters) and Sukhtbars (fuel transporters) by police and security agents shootings; Violent treatment of women on the street because of wearing so called ‘bad hijab’; Increasing livelihood pressures; Violent treatment of farmers and protesters in Isfahan and the use of shotgun pellets against them which caused serious injuries to protesters, with at least 10 people were blinded; Violent treatment and repression of people protesting against poor living conditions; Encouragement and promotion of child marriage; and finally the occurrence of several cases of honor killings under the protection of the law. The most horrible honor killing in past year which provoked widespread domestic and international outrage, was beheading Mona Heydari, an Ahwazi teenager, by her husband who afterward carried his 17-year-old wife’s severed head through the street. This was discussed from legal point of view in an article published by “Breathing in Confinement” in February, 2022.
Brief summary of important events related to human rights violations in Iran in the past year
The adoption of the 68th resolution on condemning the human rights violations in Iran in December 2021, by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), with the emphasize on the growing repression of dissidents, as well as the lack of adherence of the Government of Islamic Republic to its human rights obligations.
Holding 72 sessions of court hearings for Hamid Nouri, one of the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Rajai Shahr Prison, drew worldwide attention to this unprecedented crime and was a major progress in the fight against the impunity of human right criminals in Iran. In addition, the trial provided legal evidence for other officials of the Islamic Republic to be brought to justice in international courts for their crimes against humanity. Among others, Ibrahim Raisi, a member of the Death Committee in the massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988.
The International People’s Tribunal on Iran’s Atrocities of November 2019 in London and the trial of those responsible for violent crackdown of the November 2019 protests, on charges of crimes against humanity.