On October 10, 2022, Baha’i citizen Parisa Roohi Zadegan was arrested at her house in Shiraz to serve her two-year sentence in Adel-Abad Prison.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Parisa Roohi Zadegan was arrested and transferred to Adel-Abad Prison for sentencing.
In 2016, security forces arrested Roohi Zadegan and then released her on bail. Her trial began on June 15, 2020, until May 18, 2022, when the Shiraz Revolutionary Court sentenced her to two years in prison on the charges of “propaganda against the regime, forming anti-regime groups and collaboration with hostile countries in the form of Baha’i organization.”
The Tehran revolutionary court sentenced Mostafa Tajzadeh to eight years imprisonment. This verdict is considered final due to Tajzadeh’s refusal to appeal.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, former Deputy Interior Minister Mostafa Tajzadeh was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
His lawyer, Hooshang Pirbabai, tweeted that his client has been sentenced to five years on the charge of “assembly and collusion,” two years on “spreading falsehood,” and one year on “propaganda against the regime.” Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, five years for the first charge will be enforceable.
On July 8, 2022, the IRGC Intelligence agents arrested Tajzadeh in Tehran and transferred him to Ward 2-A of Evin prison.
Mostafa Tajzadeh was the deputy interior minister of President Mohammad Khatami.
In the new wave of mass arrests following the nationwide protests, security forces arrested five individuals in Mashhad, Tehran and Rasht.
These individuals have been identified as Adel Talebi and Zia Amiri in Tehran, Mehdi Shaki in Mashhad, Abed Tavancheh and his wife Laleh Mohammadi in Rasht.
Since the outbreak of nationwide protests, thousands of people, including journalists, teachers, students and civil rights activists, have been arrested. It is estimated that the number of arrests has climbed above 5500.
On September 28, 2022, security forces arrested Baha’i citizen Aida Rasti at her house and took her to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. During the arrest, the agents searched her home and confiscated some of her personal belongings.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on September 28, 2022, Baha’is citizen Aida Rasti was arrested by security forces.
An informed source close to her family told HRANA that she was arrested again just 13 days after release from prison. According to this source, Rasti has been denied access to her lawyer and family visitation. The judicial and prison officials have unanswered her family’s frequent enquire.
The reason for this arrest and the charges are still unknown.
Shervin Hajipour was indicted by the Prosecutor’s Office of Sari, Mazandaran Province. He has also been banned from leaving the country for six months. Hajipour was arrested for his song “Baraye” (“For..”) which has become the anthem of the nationwide protests after the death of Mahsa Amini
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, singer Shervin Hajipour was indicted by Sari Prosecutor’s Office.
His lawyer Majid Kaweh informed the public on social media that Hajipour has been charged with “propaganda against the regime” and “instigating the violence.”
On October 4, 2022, Hajipour was released on a 100-million-tomans bail.
On October 10, the 20th anniversary of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, Human Rights Activists in Iran and 58 other human rights organizations issued a joint statement to draw attention to gender bias and discrimination against women and LGBTQIA+, which can negatively impact the judicial process. They also called for the abolition of the death penalty for all offenses.
The following is the full text of this statement:
20TH WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
On this 20th anniversary of the World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to the link between torture and the use of the death penalty and in continuation of the 2021 World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to women facing capital punishment, sentenced to death, executed, pardoned or charged with a capital crime and found not guilty, the members of the World Coalition and allies of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals sentenced to death take this opportunity to:
Draw attention to gender bias in the use of torture in the judicial process leading to the imposition of the death penalty. Women and LGBTQIA+ individuals are particularly at risk to abuse, including physical, sexual, and psychological torture. In addition, women victims of gender-based violence, who are over-represented on death row, are at risk of making false confessions when subjected to coercive investigative methods, especially those carried out by men.
Emphasize that violence against women and LGBTQIA+ individuals in detention – including gender and sexual abuse and harassment, inappropriate touching during searches, rape, and sexual coercion – can rise to the level of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention Against Torture (CAT), among others.
Accentuate that women and LGBTQIA+ individuals have specific needs, including sexual and reproductive health care, medical and mental health care, harm reduction services for those using drugs, and protection from gender-based violence, among others. These needs are not systematically considered and covered in prisons, which can turn detention into torture.
Stress that in many countries, particularly those with the mandatory death penalty, women and LGBTQIA+ individuals may be sentenced to death without considering their experiences of gender-based violence, among their other vulnerability aspects, prior to incarceration.
More broadly, the members of the World Coalition and allies of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals sentenced to death and at risk of being sentenced to death wish to use this 20th anniversary to:
Emphasize that, as done by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in its 2022 report, the death penalty as currently practiced can be considered as torture.
Call attention to the intersectional discrimination and inequalities that women and LGBTQIA+ individuals face, as these can negatively impact the judicial process leading to the death penalty. Pervasive gender biases in criminal legal systems influence: the investigation, through gender bias by law enforcement; the trial, where marginalized women and LGBTQIA+ individuals tend to be denied fair trial; and at the sentencing stage, where mitigating circumstances that might benefit women and LGBTQIA+ individuals sentenced to death are not considered.
Recall that, in violation of international human right law and standards, 12 countries continue to criminalize consensual same-sex relations, imposing the death penalty upon conviction.
Address the recognition of the intersectional dimension of discrimination. An analysis of the profiles of women sentenced to death reveals that most are from ethnic and racial minorities, are non-literate, and live with intellectual or psychological disabilities, often as a result of the gender-based violence they have suffered. Gender-based discrimination does not operate in isolation but is compounded by other forms of discrimination, including discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, sex characteristics, economic status, and disability, among others.
Make visible the lack of accurate and up-to-date data on the number and status of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals sentenced to death, executed, or whose death sentences have been commuted or pardoned.
We recommend that governments in countries that still retain the death penalty:
Abolish the death penalty for all offences, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics;
Establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, as called for by the UN General Assembly in its resolutions calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty;
Pending full abolition, we call on governments to:
Eliminate the death penalty for offences that do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes” under international law and standards including same-sex relationships and drug offences;
Repeal provisions that allow for the mandatory imposition of the death penalty, which does not allow judges to consider the circumstances of the offence for the defendant at sentencing;
Commute the sentences of women sentenced to death for killing close family members who perpetrated gender-based violence against them and for women sentenced to death for drug trafficking and other offenses that do not involve the loss of human life;
Acknowledge the compounding forms of violence and discrimination experienced by girls, women and LGBTQIA+ individuals – including gender-based violence, early and forced marriage;
Review laws, criminal procedures, and judicial practices and implement policies and legislative reforms to protect women and LGBTQIA+ individuals from violence and discrimination;
Ensure that the criminal legal system takes full account of any mitigating factors linked to women’s and LGBTQIA+ individuals’ backgrounds, including evidence of prior abuse as well as psycho-social and intellectual disabilities;
Ensure publicly available disaggregated data on people sentenced to death, their profile, age, gender, the courts that have pronounced the judgements charges and places of detention;
Prevent the disproportionate detention and prosecution of women for “moral and sexual” crimes and of people for their sexual orientation and decriminalize such offenses;
Promote the training of all those involved in the investigation, legal defense, prosecution, trial, adjudication and conviction of crimes involving women on gender-based discrimination and violence, pathways to crime, and gender-sensitive mitigations;
Ensure that all those facing the death penalty have access to free and effective legal representation by counsel with experience representing individuals charged with capital offences and who are trained to recognize and bring forward mitigating factors, including those linked to gender-based discrimination and violence;
Develop and implement programs to prevent gender-based violence and discrimination, and to promote the human rights of women, girls and LGBTQIA individuals+;
Guarantee access to consular assistance for foreign women charged with death-eligible offenses, as required by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations;
In accordance with the Bangkok Rules and the Mandela Rules, adopt gender-sensitive policies regarding the detention of women, ensuring their safety and security before trial, during admission to prison, and while incarcerated.
Signatory organizations:
ACAT Germany
AdvocAid
The Advocates for Human Rights
American Constitution Society
Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN)
Association pour les Droits Humains au Kurdistan d’Iran-Genève (KMMK-G)
Avocats sans frontières France
Capital Punishment Justice Project
Center for Constitutional Rights
Coalition Tunisienne Contre la Peine de mort
Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Puerto Rico
Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide
The Death Penalty Project
Droit et Paix
Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort
Federal Association of Vietnamese Refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany
Fédération internationale pour les droits humains (FIDH)
Fédération internationale des ACAT (FIACAT)
Forum Marocain pour la Vérité et la Justice
Gender Violence Clinic – University of Maryland Carey School of Law
German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalt
Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women
Greater Caribbean for Life
Harm Reduction International
Human Rights Activists in Iran
Human Rights and Legal Profession Project Assistant
International Commission of Jurist
Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
Institute for the Rule of Law of the International Association of Lawyers
IraQueer
Italian Federation for Human Rights
Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Information Center
Kenya Human Rights Commission
Lawyers Collective India
Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Masyarakat
Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH)
Madrid Bar Association
MASUM & PACTI
Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples (MRAP)
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA)
Pax Christi Uvira
Penal Reform International
Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor
Red para la Abolición de la Pena de Muerte y las Penas Crueles
Resilient Women’s Organization
Planète Réfugiés-Droits de l’Homme
The Rights Practice
Sandigan Kuwait
The Sentencing Project
Society for Human Rights and Development Organisation (SHRDO)
Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP)
Terre des Femmes e.V.
The Texas After Violence Project
Union Chrétienne pour le Progrès et la Défense des Droits de l’Homme
On October 8, 2022, security forces arrested Lotfi and Masoud Nikkhah, the members of the Teachers’ Trade Association of Mariwan and one day later transferred them from Mariwan to Evin Prison in Tehran.
These teachers union activists were arrested at their houses in Mariwan.
On May 1, 2022, Lotfi and Nikkhah were also arrested by security forces and then released on bail on August 20.
The reason for these arrests and the charges are still unknown.
HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, has identified 200 people who were killed during the recent nationwide protests. Of this list, 31 have been verified independently by HRANA. Women are 7% of the victims. Shockingly, 29% of the victims are under the age of 18.
Also, 20 police and security forces have been killed.
The map below shows the geographical distribution of the victims across the country.
Since the outbreak of nationwide protests, thousands of people, including journalists, teachers, students and civil rights activists, have been arrested. It is estimated that the number of arrests has climbed above 5500.
So far, HRANA has identified 563 citizens and 123 students who were arrested since the beginning of the protests.
Also, HRANA has obtained 57 mass arrests by the police during the protests.
The nationwide protests after the death of Mahsa Amini continued on October 8 and 9, 2022. People in the streets and university students marched and chanted slogans against the regime. In many cities, traders and shopkeepers went on a general strike and closed their shops. People’s access to the global internet is still restricted. Hacktivists increased their cyberattacks against their regime.
On Saturday, October 8, people took to the streets and demonstrated in several cities, including Tehran, Sanandaj, Aak, Isfahan, Karaj, Mashhad, Hamedan and Javanrud.
Moreover, the students gathered and protested on at least 17 universities campus. The students chanted slogans against the regime, such as “We will fight, We will take Iran back,” “Student! Shout out for your rights,” “Death to the dictator,” and “They took Nika and gave back her body” (referring to Nika Shakarami, a teenage girl who was killed by the security forces during the protest).”
In Tehran, Mashhad and Sanandaj, bloody street clashes erupted between the protestors and the police. In some videos, sounds of gunshots are heard.
In several cities, including Tehran, Shiraz, Marivan, Bukan, Sanandaj and Saqqez, traders and shopkeepers went on strike and closed their shops in protest.
Iran-State TV broadcasted more coerced confessions extracted from people arrested during the protest.
So far, thousands of protestors have been arrested, and the number is increasing daily. On Saturday alone, HRANA identified 26 arrests.
HRANA has identified more than 200 people killed during the protests. HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, is still working on fact-checking and reviewing the reports independently.
Below is the compilation of the videos from the protests on Saturday, October 8.
Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)- On the World Day against the Death Penalty, the Center of Statistics of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) has published its annual report in an effort to sensitize the public about the death penalty situation in Iran, particularly thousands of death-row convicts awaiting their looming executions.
HRA’s Statistics Center relies on the work of HRANA reporters, as well as a network of independent and verifiable sources. It also incorporates the judicial authorities’ announcements or confirmations of prisoner executions on media, and as such, is exposed to a margin of error representing efforts by the Iranian authorities to omit, conceal, or restrict the collection of such data.
Between October 10, 2021, and October 7, 2022, at least 528 convicts were executed by hanging in Iran, rising to 98% compared to the same period last year. Of these executions, one was carried out in public. Many of the defendants were denied a fair trial and due process.
Click here to download report in PDF format
HRANA obtained 439 reports regarding executions and death penalty in Iran during this period. The identified executed individuals, include 20 women and 6 juvenile offenders under the age of 18 at the time of alleged crime. Compared to the last period, the execution of female offenders has raised 55%.
According to the reports obtained by HRANA, over this period, Iranian authorities sentenced at least 89 defendants to death penalty, including at least 5 women, and 7 public executions. Issuing death sentence decreased by 1% compared to the last year.
As the chart below shows a breakdown of executions by capital offense: 50.38% were charged with murder, 41.29% with drug and narcotic offenses, 3.03% with rape, 1.70% with non-political armed robbery/offenses classified as “corruption on earth,” and 0.38% with political or security-related offenses. Moreover, 0.38% were convicted of security charges (spying, terror, and bombing), 0.38% were convicted of armed robbery, and 2.46% of charges are unknown.
The pie chart below displays execution numbers by the province in which they took place. According to this chart, the Sistan and Baluchestan Province had the highest number of executions at 16%. Alborz (where three overcrowded prisons are located) and Fars Provinces come second and third, with 16.48% and 11.93%, respectively.
The chart below depicts the distribution of executions’ information sources. The chart indicates that 70% of HRANA-confirmed executions were not announced by the official Iranian sources. Undisclosed executions are referred to as “secret” executions.
The chart above shows the execution numbers by gender.
The pie chart below displays execution numbers by the prison where the executions were carried out. The Rajai-Shahr Prison officials have carried out the highest number of executions with 14.42%. Zahedan Prison ranks second with 12,33% executions.
The chart below displays percentage of executions carried out in public Vs. the number of executions that were carried out in prison. According to statistics, 0.19% of the executions in Iran were carried out in public.
