Statistics on the violation of human rights in Iran from December 20, 2021 to January 20, 2022; Execution of at least 3 political prisoners
25-January-2022
Category: ethnic minorities، executions، Labor and guilds، Women
23-January-2022
Newsgroups: Executions – Ethnic Minorities – Women – Prisoners – Repression – Workers and Guilds – Teachers –
Breathing in Confinement: In the past one month, while the repression intensified in Iran, the number of executions, detentions, and prison sentences increased. The widespread uprisings by various groups of people in protest of the poor living conditions were treated with coercion and repression. Denying the prisoners, including political prisoners, of medical care resulted in the deaths of two political prisoners in the past one month.
The catastrophic situation of human rights in Iran requires immediate practical action by the international human rights organizations.
Arrest and detention of civil and trade union activists, including teachers ‘and workers’ was another manifestation of the aggravating repression in Iran.
Regarding the statistics on the death penalties, it should be noted that due to the secrecy of executions, only a very small part of the actual numbers is announced by the state media or government authorities. And most cases are disclosed through human rights activists which is usually a delayed announcement.
In addition to execution, the Iranian government eliminates political prisoners by killing them under torture or by deliberately delaying them of medical care. Last month, political prisoner Adel Kianpour lost his life following a hunger strike in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz. Also, the political prisoner, Baktash Abtin, a poet, filmmaker, and member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, who had contracted Covid-19 in prison, died after a few days of being kept in an artificial coma because of delayed transfer to the hospital. Denial of treatment for Baktash Abtin, which led to his death, sparked a wave of condemnation both domestically and internationally. Furthermore, Omid Mousavi, 22, one of the detainees of the November 2019 protests in Tehran, died of a stroke five months after his release from prison.
Statistics of executions in the last month
During the past month (December 20, 2021, to January 20, 2022), at least 45 prisoners were executed in Iran which shows a 19 percent increase in compare to the previous month.
In the past 10 months, at least 293 prisoners have been executed in the prisons in Iran. That being said that this figure is only the number of executions reported to human rights activists, and the actual number is certainly much higher.
Only 4 out of 45 executions were reported by the state media and the other 41 carried out in secret. In another word, 91% of executions across the country were reported and documented only through the efforts of human rights activists, meaning that the figure shows only a small part of the real number of executions.
Of the 45 executed prisoners, at least three were political prisoners who were secretly convicted and executed. The other death penalties were carried out on charges of murder, drug offenses, and rape.
Over the past one month, 11 prisoners were executed on “drug-related charges”, 29 on “murder” charges, 3 political prisoners on charge of “corruption on earth” and 2 on “rape” charges.
Execution of Baluch citizens have been ongoing in recent days. In just one day, eight Baluch citizens were executed in the cities of Zabul and Zahedan. The lack of transparency in the process of trial and sentencing of these citizens has raised many concerns.
Two prisoners from Khorramabad were executed in the city’s prison on charges of “setting fire to a gas station” as well as “killing two police officers”. These two prisoners were hung while prior to the announcement of their execution by the state media, no information had been released on their detention, trial and sentencing, and the whole process had been carried out in secret.
In addition, a Baloch political prisoner named Abdolbaset Rigi, 33, father of 3, was executed for killing a judge and setting fire to the Irancell tower. The murder had taken place 12 years before Mr. Rigi was arrested, and he was reportedly tortured into making a confession and pleading guilty to murder.
Issuance and approval of the death sentence:
At least 12 death sentences were issued or upheld in the past month. A political prisoner has been sentenced to death for “moharebeh” and “corruption on earth,” accusations which usually are made to expedite the issuance and execution of the death penalties. Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad sentenced Mohammad Javad Vafaei Thani, a boxing champion in Mashhad, to death on charge of “corruption on earth trough vandalism of certain places, including the Government Taazir Center in 2019.” The boxing coach, Mr. Thani, 26, was arrested by security agents in March 2019 in Mashhad.
Yazdan Mirzaei, the son of Davood, 27, is a wushu athlete from Ilam and a holder of gold medals at international competitions. He is currently being held in Zahedan Prison and has been sentenced to death by the Criminal Court in Zahedan on drug-related charges. He, however, has denied the allegations. Yazdan Mirzaei is a member of the national team in Sanda style. He is the holder of gold medals in Asian competitions as well as Pars Cup international competitions.
The Supreme Court has also upheld the death sentence of Boroumand Najafi, an environment watch from Kermanshah. Mr. Najafi had previously been sentenced to death by the Third Branch of the Kermanshah Provincial Criminal Court for the murder of an illegal hunter.
Whipping sentences
Whipping is one of the most inhumane punishments that the Islamic Republic continues to use against the accused. Last month in Mashhad, a defendant named Farzad, received a sentence of 74 lashes in addition to the death sentence and five years in prison.
Arrests and related sentences
Last month, more than 87 activists and dissidents were arrested or detained to serve their sentences. The sentences in total summed to 127 years, 3 months and 2 days in prison.
It is worth mentioning that the majority of arrests are not reported. Many protesters were arrested during the teachers’ assemblies in the provinces of Fars, Khuzestan, Isfahan, and Bushehr, but only a few were identified. Mr. Hamid Abbasi was one of the arrested teachers in Shiraz following the widespread protests held in the city. In addition, after the crackdown on teachers ‘protests, Mr. Mohammad Taghi Fallahi, secretary of the Teachers’ Union in Tehran, was arrested to serve his six-month prison sentence.
Last month, 33 warrants for personal property confiscation were issued which is an unprecedently high rate for just one month. Below are 3 examples of these rulings:
1- Ms. Roghayeh Sultan Mirzaei, in addition to 2 years in prison, was sentenced to confiscation of her personal garden located in Shahriar, for supporting the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization.
2- The house of Mrs. Fatemeh Muthanna and her husband, Mr. Hassan Sadeghi, a political prisoner couple, was confiscated on charge of supporting the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization, and an evacuation order was issued by the Executive Headquarters of Imam’s Directive.
3- Based on a fatwa by clerics, the confiscation order of the personal property of Sheida Tayeed, a Baha’i citizen in Ghaemshahr was issued and her house was surrendered to the Executive Headquarters of Imam’s Directive.