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Four Inmates Executed in Ilam, Sanandaj and Zahedan

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Executions, News
Hadi Arbabi, Hamid Rahimi, Ilam, Mohammad Eshagh Gorgij, Mohmmad-Rasoul Cholaki, Sanandaj, Zahedan

On February 27, 2023, two inmates convicted of drug-related crimes were executed in Zahedan Prison. Also, last week, two inmates convicted of murder were executed in Ilam and Sanandaj prisons.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Haal Vsh, on February 27, 2023, Hadi Arbabi (Gorgij) and Mohammad Eshagh Gorgij, both residents of Zahedan, were executed in Zahedan Prison.

Also, Kurdpa reported the execution of Hamid Rahimi in Sanandaj Prison and Mohmmad-Rasoul Cholaki in Ilam Prison on February 26 and 22, respectively. Both were previously convicted of murder.

None of the official sources and media outlets inside the country has reported these executions at the time of writing.

In 2022, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran registered 457 reports related to the death penalty. This included 92 death sentences, including the conviction of 6 people to public execution and 565 execution sentences were carried out, 2 of which have been carried out in public. Based on the announced identifications of some of the executed individuals, 501 were male and 11 were female. In addition, 5 juvenile offenders were executed in 2022, meaning they were under the age of 18 at the time they committed the crime.

 

Report on the Arrest of Fifteen Members of an Iranian Religious Group

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News, Religious Minorities
Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, Alireza Akbari Arzati, Arman Feydabadi, Ghasem Yousefi Ramanti, Hamid Reza Yousefi, Maryam Naqshbandi, Mohammad Amin Nouri, Mohammad Hashem Bazarafshan, Mohammad Reza Shekarian Asl, Owais Akbari Arzati, Saeed Gudarzi, Special Clerical Court

In December 2022, fifteen members of a religious group called “Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light” were arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence agents and jailed in Evin Prison.

According to the reports obtained from multiple sources, these individuals were targeted and arrested due to their beliefs, deemed heretical to Shia beliefs by Iran’s regime. The arrests occurred on the 15th of December 2022, but it is unclear where the arrests took place.

Four individuals’ passports were confiscated at the airport while leaving the country. The detained individuals have been forced to sign a repentance letter, renouncing their faith and denouncing their leader.

These detained individuals, including two women and three minors, are:

1- Ghasem Yousefi Ramanti – from Babol – (his passport was seized at Imam Khomeini Airport on December 7)
2- Mohammad Reza Shekarian Asl, a resident of Tehran, was arrested for the second time.
3- Alireza Akbari Arzati
4- Owais Akbari Arzati
5- Maryam Naqshbandi
6- the 8-year-old child of Alireza Akbari Arzati and Maryam Naqshbandi
7- the 14-year-old son of Alireza Akbari Arzati and Maryam Naqshbandi
8- Saeed Gudarzi – (His passport was seized at Khomeini Airport on December 7)
9- Mohammad Hashem Bazarafshan- (His passport was seized at Khomeini Airport on December 7)
10-Hamid Reza Yousefi – (his passport was seized at Khomeini Airport on December 7)
11- Saba Sedaghat
12- Amir-Mahdi (last name is unknown)
13- Farzan (last name is unknown)
14- Mohammad Amin Nouri, 17 years old (detained in the correctional center)
15- Arman Feydabadi

Their legal cases have been delivered to the Special Clerical Court.

Ahmadi (officially: Ahmadi religion of peace and light, not confused with the Qadiani sect) are supporters of a religious movement that believes in “Imam Muhammad Mahdi and Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan”.

Iran’s security apparatus, the Ministry of Intelligence in particular, has formed special teams to target and prosecute a variety of religious, mystics and intellectual-religious communities whose beliefs diverge from the official interpretation of Shia Islam.

Every year, many people are summoned or arrested just for claims such as having a spiritual connection to the Twelfth Imam or propagating a different interpretation of Islam.

Former Political Prisoner Mosayeb Raisi Yeganeh Arrested

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Freedom of Expression, News
Evin Prison, Mosayeb Raisi Yeganeh, Tehran

On February 25, 2023, security forces arrested former political prisoner Mosayeb Raisi Yeganeh in Tehran and took him to an undisclosed location.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on February 25, 2023, Mosayeb Raisi Yeganeh was arrested by security forces in Tehran.

An informed source told HRANA, IRGC intelligence forces beat and arrested him at his home in Tehran.
Yeganeh was previously arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence agents in September 2017. Subsequently, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced him to six years imprisonment for “propaganda against the regime, blasphemy, insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran.” This verdict was upheld on appeal. Ultimately, on February 4, 2020, he was jailed in Evin Prison to serve his sentence.

After the fire incident at Evin Prison on October 15, 2022, Yeganeh was relocated to Rajai Shahr Prison and after a while, he was released from jail without prior notice.
His whereabouts and the allegation are still unknown.

Baha’i Citizen Payam Vali Sentenced to 16 Years

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News, Religious Minorities
Alborz Revolutionary Court, Ghezel Hesar prison, Karaj, Payam Vali

The Alborz Revolutionary Court sentenced Baha’i citizen Payam Vali, imprisoned in Ghezel Hesar Prison, to 16 years imprisonment, pre-trial detention included. He was also banned from leaving the country for two years and sentenced to two years in exile in Yasuj.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Baha’i citizen Payam Vali was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

According to this verdict, Vali received ten years for “collaboration with hostile countries,” five years for “inciting people to commit violence,” and one year for “propaganda against the regime.” As additional punishment, he was banned from leaving the country for two years and sentenced to a two-year compulsory residence in Yasuj County.

If the verdict is upheld on appeal, based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, ten years in prison for “collaboration with hostile countries”, will be enforceable.

On September 24, 2022, security forces arrested Vali at his house in Karaj, searched the house, and detained him in Rajai Shahr Prison. He was later relocated to Ghezel Hesar prison.

 

 

Five Inmates Executed in Birjand Prison

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Executions, News
Abdolhamid Sheh Bakhsh, Ali Fanoodie, Birjand, Birjand Prison, South Khorasan province, Zahedan

On February 26, Birjand Prison officials executed five death-row prisoners, including two women.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Haal Vsh, five inmates, including two women, were executed in Birjand Prison, South Khorasan Province.

Two of these men have been identified as Abdolhamid Sheh Bakhsh, a resident of Zahedan, and Ali Fanoodie, a resident of Birjand. In 2020, they were arrested and sentenced to death for drug-related crimes.
The identities of the three others are still unknown.

None of the official sources and media outlets inside the country has reported these executions at the time of writing.

In 2022, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran registered 457 reports related to the death penalty. This included 92 death sentences, including the conviction of 6 people to public execution and 565 execution sentences were carried out, 2 of which have been carried out in public. Based on the announced identifications of some of the executed individuals, 501 were male and 11 were female. In addition, 5 juvenile offenders were executed in 2022, meaning they were under the age of 18 at the time they committed the crime.

 

 

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Omid Moshir Panahi Arrested in Sanandaj

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News, Other
Nojin, Omid Moshir Panahi, Sanandaj

On February 23, 2023, the Sanandaj Ministry of Intelligence summoned and arrested Omid Moshir Panahi.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Kurdpa, on February 23, 2023, Omid Moshir Panahi, a resident of Sanandaj, was arrested.

Moshir Panahi is a member of the cultural association Nojin which is engaged in environmental activities, forest protection and Kurdish language teaching.

The reason for his arrest, whereabouts and allegations are still unknown.

 

 

Iran Protests: Mehrdad and Mojtaba Moghiseh Sentenced to Imprisonment and Additional Punishments

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Freedom of Expression, News
Khour and Biabanak County, Mehrdad Moghiseh, Mojtaba Moghiseh, Sabzevar

The Sabzevar Revolutionary Court sentenced brothers Mehrdad and Mojtaba Moghiseh, arrested at recent protests, to nine years and six months in prison, and two years in exile.

Each of the Moghiseh brothers received six years for “clashing with the police and forming groups in order inciting people to riot” and three years and six months for “assembly and collusion to act against national security.” They have also been sentenced to two years in exile in Khour and Biabanak County, Isfahan province.

On September 24, 2022, security forces arrested them violently amid recent nationwide protests. According to an informed source, they were under pressure to make coerced confessions during the detention. On December 22, 2022, they were released on bail.
“One of their brothers, Masoud Moghiseh, an Oil Company employee, was suspended from work, even though he was not involved whatsoever.”

Detained Protestor Died in Police Station

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Freedom of Expression, News, Other, Prisoners
Ebrahim Rigi, Haal Vsh, Zahedan

On February 22, Ebrahim Rigi died in the custody of the police a few hours after his arrest in Zahedan. He had been arrested for the second time over protests.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Haal Vsh, detained protestor Ebrahim Rigi died in custody in Zahedan.

On February 22, two police agents arrested Rigi in Zahedan and took him to a police station, where he was reportedly beaten in the police station. “The Judge of the homicide branch, a Judge on duty and Zahedan Forensic medicine have confirmed beating as the cause of his death,” Haal Vsh reported.

Nonetheless, police claimed that Rigi has been beaten outside the police station. Rigi’s family reportedly are under pressure not to follow up on this case.

Also earlier, on October 13, 2022, Rigi, age 24, was arrested over protests by security forces near his house in Zahedan. He was released on bail on January 1, 2023.

Five-Year Sentence against Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani Upheld on Appeal

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Freedom of Expression, News
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, irgc, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi

The Tehran Court of Appeals sentenced political activist Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani to five years in prison and banned her from leaving the country.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani was sentenced to five years in prison.

Attorney at law Mohammad Hossein Aghasi informed the public that Rafsanjani’s sentence was upheld on appeals.

On September 27, 2022, security forces arrested Rafsanjani in Tehran. IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency claimed she was arrested for participating in nationwide protests.

Rafsanjani, a former parliament member and daughter of the former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, faced other arrests and convictions on prior occasions.

Austrian National Sentenced to Seven Years and Six Months

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Freedom of Expression, News, Other
Austrian foreign ministry, Espionage

In a statement, the Austrian foreign ministry revealed that Iran’s judicial officials sentenced an Austrian national to seven-and-a-half years in prison “, with two years of probation being waived in the case of good behavior.” This individual was arrested last October.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, an Austrian man was sentenced to seven years and six months for alleged spying.

In reaction, Vienna summoned the Iranian ambassador to express its strenuous objection to this conviction.

This statement mentioned “espionage” as the charge against this Austrian convict. “Two years of this sentence” may be “waived in the case of good behavior,” the ministry added.

Earlier, in October 2022, the Austrian foreign ministry disclosed the arrest of an Austrian man in Iran and asked Iranian authorities for an explanation. At the time, Iranian authorities asserted that this arrest was not related to the concurrent nationwide protests.