Summary of Human Rights Violations in Iran from October 20 to November 20, 2023
1-December-2023
Category: executions، Freedom of Expression
November 30, 2023
News Group: Freedom of Speech – Execution –
Execution of at least 112 prisoners
Issuance of death sentences for 11 prisoners and confirmation of death sentences for 7 others by the Supreme Court
Issuance of the sentence of 510 lashes
Arrest of at least 481 citizens
Issuance of a total of 355 years and 5 months and 8 days of imprisonment along with fines for 85 citizens
Arrest of at least 14 individuals for sentence enforcement and their transfer to prison
Death of 32 workers and injury of at least 50 others due to work-related incidents
More than 333 protest movements by various people’s groups
Introduction
Simultaneously with the intensification of oppressive policies in various political and social arenas, the number of executions showed a significant increase last month. The intensified crackdowns for imposing compulsory hijab, expulsion or suspension of students, suppression of protests, and detention of political and trade union activists were among the government’s actions in the past month, acknowledged by the officials of the Islamic Republic to prevent public protests.
Illegal executions and the disproportionate relationship between crime and punishment, as well as the lack of transparency in the trial process, are among the government’s methods to suppress the people and to control the society which in fact is on the verge of explosion for various social, political, and economic reasons.
In this regard, the judicial department of the government selects its victims from the most deprived social classes. Prisoners who have committed crimes due to poverty and economic inequalities are, in fact, the victims of the inhumane policies of the government. The high number of executions of Baluch citizens, given the continuation of protests in this region, as well as the severe poverty and intensified oppression in this part of the country, verifies this claim. Thus, the term “state murders” is an appropriate title for these organized massacres. In fact the political dimensions of these sentences overrides their judicial aspects. Therefore, examining these governmental murders within a legal framework is absolutely inappropriate.
Execution from October 20 to November 20
In the past month, at least 112 prisoners across the country were executed. This figure shows an almost 30% increase compared to 70 executions carried out in the previous month.
In the past month, 5 political prisoners, 56 prisoners on drug related charges, 46 prisoners on murder charges, 1 ideological prisoner on charges of waging war against God, 2 prisoners on charges of armed robbery, and 2 prisoners on charges of sexual assault were executed.
After 12 years of imprisonment, a political prisoner named Meisam Dehghani was executed in Zahedan on charges of acting against national security and membership in opposition groups.
Mohammad Karim Barkzai Exon, Mohammad Barahuei Anjoomi, and Idris Bilerani were executed on charges of membership in opposition groups. In the published audio file of political prisoner Mohammad Karim Barkzai Exon, it is stated that security forces have offered them to assassinate Molavi Abdulhamid Gholam Bahramzehi. And since these political prisoners refused to do this, their death sentences were confirmed.
Qasem Abesteh, a Sunni ideological prisoner, was hanged after 14 years of imprisonment on charges of murder of a government official.
Juvenile executions are ruthless crimes of the Islamic Republic that the Islamic Republic continue to commit, despite widespread international protests.
Abdolreza Gholami, who was executed on charges of murder, was less than 18 years old at the time of the alleged crime.
Hamidreza Azari, another executed prisoner who was less than 18 years old at the time of arrest and execution, was hanged in Sabzevar Prison.
A female prisoner named Zarkhatoon Mazarzehi, despite pleading unguilty and despite the requests of human rights activists to stop her execution, was executed on drug-related charges in Kerman Prison.
Out of the 112 executed cases, only 13 were announced by the government and the state media, and the other 99 were disclosed by human rights activists.
From March 20 of this year until November 20, a total of 575 prisoners have been executed, while the execution figures for the previous 12 months were 661 in total.
Six people were hanged in public. Eight women and 5 children-accused also were among the executed prisoners.
Regarding the executions carried out between September 20 and October 20, we were informed that after the publication of the report by the Statistics Center of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran (Breathing in Confinement), two other prisoners named Davood Heidari and Daryoush Bahrami were executed on October 22 in Karaj.
The death sentence of Reza Sanamzadeh in Karaj’s Ghezelhesar Prison, was executed on October 11 on the charge of murder. This also was not included in the previous report. Reza was from Nurabad in Lorestan and a resident of Rey city. The news of his execution was revealed on October 25.
Farshid Hasan Zehi has been sentenced to execution by Branch 1 of Zahedan Criminal Court on charges of shooting at a vehicle near the police station of Cheshme Ziarat village in Zahedan.
Additionally, the death sentences for Mohammad Zein al-Dini and Adham Naroui, two security prisoners accused of the murder of three members of the IRGC Quds Force, have been confirmed by the Supreme Court. This is despite the fact that those who killed the security forces were also killed in a self-defence encounter, and these two prisoners had no role in the confrontation.
The death sentence for Mohammad Reza Habibian, who killed Abbas Ali Soltani, a member of the Assembly of Experts (Khobregan Majlis), has been confirmed by the Supreme Court. Consequently, from March 20th to November 20th of this year, at least 102 prisoners have been sentenced to execution, and the death sentences of 17 individuals have been confirmed by the Supreme Court. Among the convicts, four have been sentenced to public execution.
Issuance and Implementation of Lashing Sentences
Flagging is a degrading and cruel punishment which is inconsistent with human dignity and is a type of torture. This crime is committed by the Islamic Republic authorities based on religious criminal laws and is still being utilized as a legal form of punishment by courts in Iran. And this is despite its prohibition by international legal and civil conventions.
In the past month, a total of 510 lashings have been sentenced for 9 individuals. Among them are four teachers from Bushehr named Mahmoud Mallaki, Asghar Haji, Abdolreza Amanifar, and Hassan Omrani, accused of disrupting public order by participating in teachers’ union gatherings. Each of these teachers has been sentenced to 35 lashes.
The arrested citizens from October 20th to November 20th:
In the past month, at least 481 individuals have been arrested. The detainees include protesters, teachers, workers, journalists, justice seeker families, Baha’is, Sunni clerics, students, artists, online activists, ethnic activists, Yaresan Faith followers, and other citizens, all of whom were among those arrested in the recent month.
During the burial ceremony of Armita Geravand, a 17-year-old girl murdered by agents of Moral Police, at least 18 citizens were arrested in Behesht Zahra Cemetery.
Also, in this month, a prisoner named Keyvan Dehghan, accused of drug-related charges, was murdered under torture in Sardasht Prison. He is the fourth prisoner to be murdered under torture since the beginning March of this year. In previous months, at least 3 political prisoners, including Saman Darvishi, Mousa Esmaeili, and Peyman Kalvani, were murdered under torture. Additionally, Javad Rouhi, a political prisoner sentenced to death, unexpectedly and suspiciously died in Noshahr Prison. Six prisoners also lost their lives in prisons due to lack of essential facilities and delays in being transferred to hospitals. At least three political prisoners also died suddenly and unexpectedly shortly after their release.
Convictions and Detentions for Sentence Execution
In the past month, 85 cases resulted in imprisonment or fines in judicial courts, and 14 individuals were detained for the execution of their sentences. The total duration of imprisonment sentences was 335 years, 55 months, and 8 days. Among those convicted were political activists, teacher union activists, artists, journalists, justice seeker families, ethnic activists, and Baha’i citizens.
Work-related Incidents:
Due to insufficient safety measures and unfavourable working conditions, at least 32 workers lost their lives, and another 50 were injured while working in September. Lack of standard safety measures and health equipment, lack of training and supervision, and improper implementation of work safety regulations are significant factors in work-related incidents. The death toll from work-related incidents from March 20th to November 20th has reached at least 1,133.
According to the Forensic Medicine Organization of the country, from March 20th to August 20th of the current year, 1,077 individuals lost their lives in work-related incidents. This figure represents a 7.15% increase compared to the same period last year. Of all work-related fatalities in the past six months, 1,066 were male and 11 were female. During this period, Tehran, Isfahan, and Mazandaran provinces had the highest number of casualties, with 217, 246, and 70 individuals, respectively.
The Director-General of Forensic Medicine in Mazandaran announced that the number of casualties from work-related incidents in the province was 69 individuals, all of whom were male. This figure represents a 5% increase compared to the same period last year. He stated that during this period, 415 workers were also injured.
According to the General Directorate of Forensic Medicine in Tehran Province, from March 20th to August 20th, 70 individuals were referred to the Forensic Medicine Center of Tehran Province due to death from electric shock.
According to the Forensic Medicine Organization of the country, the number of workers killed in work-related incidents from March 20, 2022, to March 20, 2023, is 1,900.
Nationwide Protests:
Throughout the past month, over 333 protest rallies or demonstrations were held by various groups of people. Continuous and weekly gatherings of retired teachers and other retirees, social security beneficiaries, telecommunications workers, steelworkers, citizens with physical disabilities, nurses, oil industry workers, and other segments of society continued to protest against the deteriorating economic conditions, inadequate wages in the face of inflation and rising costs, and other occupational demands. In Zahedan, people continued their protest movements and demonstrations on Fridays to express their protest to the governmental killings and suppression, as well as demanding justice for the “Friday bloodshed” in Zahedan and the killing of protesters in the 2022 uprising.