September 20 – October 20, 2021; The highest number of executions per month in the last 7 months
28-October-2021
Category: executions، Prisoners
26-October-2021
Newsgroup: Execution – Prisoners –
Breathing in Confinement: The ongoing violations of human rights by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in terms of repression and pressure against dissidents and opponents of the government and even ordinary citizens, have raised to a new level.
During the past one month, the treatment of women on the streets on charge of “not wearing a proper hijab” has been accompanied by a great deal of violence by security and law enforcement forces. According to a video posted on social media, police used a catch pole- a device used to restrain wild animals, to arrest a woman for “not wearing a proper hijab.”
Increasing economic pressures imposed on people by the corrupted government of Iran, has led to violations of their dignity, their right to housing and their right to easy and quick access to treatment, as well as their other basic human rights.
Covid-19 continues to kill more than 200 people a day in Iran, and none of the promises made by the Ministry of Health of the government of Ebrahim Ra’isi, to provide people with a vaccine approved by the World Health Organization have been fulfilled. The ban on buying vaccines from foreign countries and the one-year delay in nationwide vaccination, should be considered a “crime against humanity.” And human rights organizations must take the necessary measures to prosecute the authorities of the Islamic Republic, especially Ali Khamenei, the government’s Supreme Leader, on charge of premeditated murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.
On the other hand, the appointment of IRIG agents notorious for their dark record of violation of human rights, to the post of governor and other key positions in the administration of cities, seems to be a step towards further intimidation of people to prevent their protests.
Execution of death sentences in Iran is in fact a systematic violation of the “right to life”.
At least 48 prisoners have been executed in various Iranian prisons over the past one month. The number of executions has increased significantly compared to the last 6 months (the first six months of the Solar Hijri year of 1400).
According to the state media, at least six death sentences have been issued in the past month. And since the news sources are the state-run media, the actual number of issued death sentences is undoubtedly much higher.
In the past month, the death sentence of a Kurdish political prisoner named Shakir Behrooz, was upheld by the Supreme Court.
In addition, more than 70 social, political and legal activists were arrested in various cities of Iran.
During the past month, social and political activists have been sentenced to at least 55 years and 9 months and 27 days in prison, as well as 888 lashes.
Executions:
Over the past month, with a rise of 54 percent in compare to the previous month, at least 48 prisoners have been executed, among them were at least three Afghan nationals.
Executions of detainees charged with drug offenses have increased since the beginning of the summer.
In the past month, 21 prisoners have been executed on drug charges. Twenty-five prisoners were also executed on murder charges. According to the chart below, 44% of those executed had been arrested on drug charges. While in 2017, according to a parliamentary resolution, the issuance of death sentences for the drug crimes was restricted to exceptional cases.
Abbas Gholi Salehi, who had been imprisoned for 20 years on drug charges, was executed on September 29, 2021, in Isfahan Prison. As per the informed sources, he had never pleaded guilty.
Prisoners with history of 9 and 13 years in prison also were among those executed for murder. After spending 13 years on the death row, a prisoner named Mashallah Sabzi, who had been sentenced to death only based on the ” oath” (qassameh) ceremony, was executed in Kermanshah prison on September 30, 2021.
Almost all of last month’s executions were carried out in secret, and the authorities of the Islamic Republic did not publish any news about these executions.
The increase in the number of executions raises concerns that the government has taken a new decision to expand its use of death sentence.
Upholding the death sentence of a Kurdish political prisoner, Shakir Behrooz in the Supreme Court, has raised concerns about the life of this political prisoner. In addition, despite international demands for its abolition, the death sentence of another Kurdish political prisoner Haidar Ghorbani is still in force.
Furthermore, three times in ten days, Arman Abdolali, a child accused prisoner convicted of murder, was transferred to a solitary cell in Rajai Shahr prison to serve his death sentence. Each time, however, he was returned to the public ward, after the execution of his death sentence was postponed. The insistence of the authorities of the Islamic Republic on the execution of this child accused has provoked many international reactions. UN human rights rapporteurs, among others, called on the Iranian government to overturn the death sentence of Arman Abdolali, as it is a gross violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, the authorities of the Islamic Republic have only postponed his execution and have not yet given any specific answer in this regard.
In the last month, eight civil activists in Ardabil were each sentenced to 74 lashes (a total of 888 lashes), as well as 14 months in prison. These sentences were handed down by Branch 102 of the Ardabil Criminal Court 2.
A judicial investigator arrested for misconduct and abuse of power was also sentenced to 74 lashes.
The medieval sentence of flogging is one of the most inhumane sentences in the Islamic Penal Code of the Iranian government, which judges use against citizens.
Over the past month, a total of 962 lashes have been handed down by the Iranian government’s judiciary.
The Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, condemning all the violent actions of the Government of the Islamic Republic and the ongoing human rights violations in Iran, calls on international organizations and UN reporters to take decisive decisions and practical action against the Government of the Islamic Republic.