Category: News

4 Prisoners Executed in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad

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Executions, News
Bahman Piroozehi, Davood Najibollahi, HRANA, Mashhad, Mohammad Golestani, Reza Sarparast, Vakilabad prison

HRANA– At dawn yesterday, August 5, the death sentences of four prisoners previously convicted on drug-related charges were carried out in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.

The identities of the executed prisoners have been reported by Iran Human Rights as Reza Sarparast (30), Davood Najibollahi (40), Bahman Piroozehi (30), and Mohammad Golestani (30), all residents of Mashhad.

According to the report, these individuals had been arrested four years ago on drug-related charges and were sentenced to death in a joint case.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

According to HRANA’s report, in 2024, over 52 percent of executed prisoners had been convicted on drug-related charges. Over the past ten years, individuals convicted of drug trafficking have accounted for 40 percent of all executions. Unfortunately, HRANA’s statistics show no progress in reducing executions for drug-related offenses.

Death Sentence for Babak Shahbazi Upheld by Supreme Court

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Executions, Freedom of Expression, News
Babak Shahbazi, Evin Prison, Ghezel Hesar prison, Karaj, Ukraine

HRANA – The Supreme Court of Iran has upheld the death sentence of Babak Shahbazi, a political prisoner currently held in Tehran’s Greater Prison. Shahbazi was previously arrested on charges of espionage and sentenced to death.

According to HRANA, citing BBC Persian, Shahbazi was accused of spying for Israel. The Supreme Court has now confirmed the verdict. Authorities have issued an order for his transfer to Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj.

BBC Persian, quoting informed sources, reports that Shahbazi denied all charges throughout the judicial process. One of the accusations reportedly used to support the espionage charge was that he had sent a message to the President of Ukraine.

Shahbazi was arrested in January 2024 and initially detained in Evin Prison. He was later transferred to Tehran’s Greater Prison along with other political prisoners after an Israeli airstrike targeted Evin.

British Couple Held in Iran on Espionage Charges Remain Incommunicado in Tehran Prisons

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News, Prisoners
Craig Foreman, Evin Prison, IRGC Intelligence, Lindsay Foreman, Qarchak Prison, Tehran’s Greater Prison

HRANA – Craig Foreman and Lindsay Foreman, two British nationals detained on charges of “espionage,” are currently being held in Tehran’s Greater Prison and Qarchak Prison in Varamin. According to Ms. Foreman’s son, the couple has been denied any contact with their family since the time of their arrest.

Joe Bennet, Ms. Foreman’s son, told AFP that on Sunday, August 3, the UK Foreign Office informed the family that his mother and stepfather had been transferred to the two prisons. He noted that the complete lack of communication has deepened the family’s concerns about their safety and the conditions of their detention. Bennet has called on Iranian authorities to allow the couple to make contact with their loved ones.

The arrest took place in Kerman and was carried out by agents of the IRGC Intelligence Organization. A spokesperson for Iran’s judiciary previously announced that the pair had been detained on espionage charges. Following their initial arrest, they were transferred to Evin Prison.

Asghar Jahangir, a senior judicial official, later alleged that the detainees had entered Iran under the pretense of tourism and, while presenting themselves as researchers, had gathered information across several provinces.

Earlier, on February 13, 2025, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Kerman announced that Hugo Shorter, the British Ambassador to Iran, had met with the detained individuals at the prosecutor’s office.

The couple, both in their early 50s, had entered Iran as part of a motorcycle world tour and had planned to continue their journey to Pakistan after a short stay.

In recent years, Iranian authorities have arrested multiple foreign nationals on charges of espionage or collaboration with hostile governments. While some have been released following political negotiations, human rights organizations and several Western governments have accused Iran of using such arrests as a means of political leverage—an allegation Iranian officials have consistently denied.

Journalist Meysam Rashidi Arrested in Ardabil

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Freedom of Expression, News
Ardabil, HRANA, Meysam Rashidi, Qaartaal, میثم رشیدی

HRANA – Meysam Rashidi, a journalist based in Ardabil, was arrested by local police following a complaint from the city’s mayor and the issuance of a temporary detention order.

According to HRANA, the arrest was carried out after Rashidi published critical content on social media about the municipality’s performance, prompting the mayor to file a legal complaint. The charges against him and his current place of detention remain unknown.

Earlier this year in March, Rashidi was reportedly assaulted by Ardabil municipality’s security personnel after he criticized the poor condition of the city’s municipal football team—an allegation the mayor later denied.

Rashidi has previously collaborated with the news outlet Qaartaal.

Arbitrary arrests, transferring detainees to undisclosed locations, and leaving families in the dark about the fate of their loved ones are routine practices of the Iranian regime’s security agencies, such as the Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC Intelligence Unit. This pattern of behavior stands in clear violation of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules

Eight Teacher Union Activists Sentenced to Prison by Revolutionary Court

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Freedom of Expression, Labor and Guilds, News
Fatemeh Yazdani, Hossein Rashidi Zarandi, HRANA, Kerman, Leila Afshar, Majid Naderi, Mitra Nikpour, Mohammadreza Behzadpour, Shahnaz Rezaei Sharifabadi, Zahra Azizi

HRANA– Eight teacher union activists from Kerman Province have been sentenced by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Kerman to a total of 8 years and 6 months of discretionary imprisonment.

According to HRANA, citing the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, the verdicts were issued on August 3, 2025, by Branch 1 of the Kerman Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Hadi Aghaeipour, and have been formally communicated to the individuals.

Breakdown of the sentences is as follows:

   ● Majid Naderi was sentenced to:
       ◦ 1 year in prison for “membership in a group opposing the regime to disrupt national security”
       ◦ 4 months for “propaganda against the regime”
       ◦ 4 months for “insulting the Supreme Leader”

   ● Hossein Rashidi Zarandi received:
       ◦ 1 year for “membership in a group opposing the regime to disrupt national security”
       ◦ 4 months for “insulting Khomeini and Khamenei”

   ● Mohammadreza Behzadpour was sentenced to:
       ◦ 1 year for “membership in a group opposing the regime to disrupt national security”
       ◦ 4 months for “propaganda against the regime”

   ● Fatemeh Yazdani, Mitra Nikpour, Zahra Azizi, Leila Afshar, and Shahnaz Rezaei Sharifabadi were each sentenced to:
       ◦ 6 months for “membership in a group opposing the regime to disrupt national security”
       ◦ 4 months for “propaganda against the regime”

In June 2025, the indictment against these teacher union activists was issued and referred to Branch 1 of the Kerman Revolutionary Court.

These individuals had previously been summoned to the Kerman Prosecutor’s Office on June 9, 2024.

Earlier, in October 2022, Zahra Azizi, Mohammadreza Behzadpour, and Hossein Rashidi were summoned by Kerman’s Security Police.

In May 2022, Mohammadreza Behzadpour, Majid Naderi, and Hossein Rashidi were arrested by security forces in Kerman and later released on bail after several days.

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A Prisoner Executed in Khorramabad

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Executions, News
Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Parsilon Prison, Saber Azizpour

HRANA – At dawn on Sunday, August 3, the death sentence of a prisoner previously convicted of murder was carried out in Parsilon Prison in Khorramabad.

HRANA has identified the individual as Saber Azizpour, 25 years old, and a resident of Harsin County, Kermanshah province.
He had been previously arrested on murder charges and was ultimately sentenced to death by a criminal court.

As of the time of this report, the execution has not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

In 2024, according to 812 reports compiled by HRANA, the Iranian regime executed 930 individuals in its prisons—marking the highest number of executions in the past 12 years. Despite the scale of these executions, prison officials and other relevant authorities publicly acknowledged only 6% of them, highlighting the regime’s lack of transparency and accountability.

Following Sentence Consolidation, Shahab Nazari’s Prison Term Increased to 10 Years

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News, Prisoners
Hossein Ali Hatami, Izeh, Khuzestan, Shahab Nazari, Sheiban Prison

HRANA– After the request for sentence consolidation was approved, the Khuzestan Province Court of Appeals increased the prison sentence of Shahab Nazari, a political prisoner held in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz, to 10 years. He had previously been sentenced to a total of 4 years and 91 days in two separate cases.

According to a ruling issued by Branch 14 of the Khuzestan Court of Appeals, Mr. Nazari has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison on four charges. The court sentenced him to five years in prison for the most severe charge, “blasphemy.” He was also sentenced to two years for “spreading falsehoods,” two years for “insulting the Supreme Leader,” and one year for “propaganda against the regime.”

This verdict was issued on July 29, 2025, and was recently communicated to Mr. Nazari’s lawyer, Hossein Ali Hatami.

On Wednesday, April 24, 2025, Shahab Nazari was transferred to Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz after appearing at the Sentence Enforcement Office of the Ahvaz Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office.

Nazari, 24-year-old resident of Izeh, was arrested on April 22, 2023, by security forces in Ahvaz and was eventually released on bail of 500 million tomans from Sheiban Prison on May 21, 2023.

Previously, Branch 1 of the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court had sentenced him to two years in prison for “insulting the Supreme Leader” and one year for “propaganda against the regime,” totaling three years of imprisonment. This verdict was upheld in full by Branch 14 of the Khuzestan Court of Appeals. Based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, two years of this sentence are enforceable.

Additionally, in a separate part of the same case, Mr. Nazari was sentenced by Branch 2 of the Ahvaz Criminal Court to one year and 91 days in prison for “spreading falsehoods.” This sentence was also upheld in full by the Khuzestan Court of Appeals.

Iranian Jewish Citizens Remain Detained in Shiraz and Tehran

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News, Religious Minorities
HRANA, Iranian Jews, Kamran Hekmati, Motahareh Goonehi, Navid Reuven, Shahab Yosef, Yehuda Hekmati

HRANA – Four Jewish citizens remain in detention in Tehran and Shiraz weeks after being arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence during the heightened security atmosphere following the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel. The detainees are being held without formal charges, and no details about their legal status or the cases against them have been made public.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, the four individuals have been identified as Navid Reuven, Shahab Yosef, Kamran Hekmati, and Michael (surname unknown). All four remain in detention facilities operated by the Ministry of Intelligence.

Navid Reuven (son of Gila) and Shahab Yosef (son of Zwela) were arrested in Shiraz during the recent conflict. They are currently being held at the Ministry’s “Plaque 100” detention facility. While the specific charges against them have not been disclosed, sources report that one alleged issue in their case is the possession of an Israeli flag found in their residence.

A third detainee, previously identified by HRANA as Yehuda Hekmati, has now been confirmed as Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old Iranian-American Jewish citizen. His mother’s name is listed as Rivka. He was arrested upon entering Iran to visit family and is reportedly being held due to a trip he made to Israel seven years ago. He is currently detained in a Ministry of Intelligence facility in Tehran.

The fourth detainee, Michael (surname unknown), is also being held in Tehran and is expected to appear for his final interrogation session tomorrow. No information has been released regarding the charges or legal process in his case.

These arrests are part of a broader pattern of state pressure on the Jewish community in Iran. In the wake of the recent Iran-Israel conflict, at least 35 Jewish citizens in Tehran and Shiraz were reportedly summoned and interrogated by Iranian security forces. Interrogations primarily focused on the individuals’ family ties with relatives in Israel and included warnings against any phone or internet contact with foreign relatives.

In a related account, Motahareh Goonehi, a student activist recently released from the Intelligence Ministry’s detention facility, referred in a public statement to a Jewish individual named Lida. It remains unclear whether she is among the recently detained or if her case is separate. No further information is currently available regarding her status.

Iranian law passed in 2011 criminalizes travel to Israel by Iranian citizens, imposing penalties of two to five years in prison and temporary bans on passport eligibility. This law continues to impact Iranian Jews by restricting contact with family members abroad, particularly in Israel.

Despite official state claims of upholding the rights of religious minorities, including Jews, human rights experts warn that these recent arrests and interrogations may constitute religious and ethnic discrimination, violating Iran’s commitments under international human rights law.

Prisoner Executed in Arak Prison

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Executions, News
Arak prison, HRANA, Rasoul Arabi

HRANA– At dawn on Sunday, August 3, the execution of a prisoner previously sentenced to death on murder charges was carried out in Arak Prison.

HRANA has identified the prisoner as Rasoul Arabi, who was hanged at dawn on Sunday, August 3, 2025.
According to information received by HRANA, Mr. Arabi had been arrested on murder charges and later sentenced to death by a criminal court.

As of the time of this report, the execution has not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

In 2024, according to 812 reports compiled by HRANA, the Iranian regime executed 930 individuals in its prisons—marking the highest number of executions in the past 12 years. Despite the scale of these executions, prison officials and other relevant authorities publicly acknowledged only 6% of them, highlighting the regime’s lack of transparency and accountability.

Drug-Related Offenses: 7 Prisoners Executed in Karaj Central Prison

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Executions, News
Ali Hosseinpour, HRANA, Karaj Central Prison, Meysam Joodaki, Mohammad Golosi, Reza Bakht Avar, Sajjad Pourdanesh

HRANA – At dawn on Sunday, August 3, the death sentences of seven prisoners previously convicted on drug-related charges were carried out in Karaj Central Prison.

HRANA has identified five of those executed as Sajjad Pourdanesh, Meysam Joodaki, Mohammad Golosi, Reza Bakht Avar and Ali Hosseinpour. These individuals had been arrested on drug-related charges and later sentenced to death by Revolutionary Courts.

On Wednesday, July 30, HRANA had reported the transfer of four of these prisoners to solitary confinement in preparation for their execution.

Further details, including the identity of the seventh executed prisoner, are still under investigation by HRANA.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been officially confirmed by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

According to HRANA’s report, in 2024, over 52 percent of executed prisoners had been convicted on drug-related charges. Over the past ten years, individuals convicted of drug trafficking have accounted for 40 percent of all executions. Unfortunately, HRANA’s statistics show no progress in reducing executions for drug-related offenses.