Two Prisoners Executed for Drug Crimes in Arak and Birjand

On August 1, 2023, in Arak Prison, Ruhollah Azizi, aged 40, was executed after being convicted of drug-related crimes, as reported by Rasank News.

Haal Vsh also reported the execution of an inmate for drug offenses in Birjand Prison on July 31. He has been identified as Rahim Ghiljaei, 46, married, the father of one child. He had been sentenced to death two years prior, and his execution occurred without prior notice to his family, leaving them deprived of a final visitation.

These executions have thrust the issue of capital punishment for drug-related offenses into the spotlight. In 2022, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran recorded 457 reports concerning the death penalty. Approximately 43% of these executions were linked to drug-related charges.

 

Two Prisoners of Conscience Executed in Arak Prison

On May 8, 2023, Yousef Mehrad and Seyed Sadrollah Fazeli Zare were executed in Arak Prison after being sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet of Islam. Earlier, HRANA had reported on their relocation to solitary confinement for one day which is deemed as a prelude to carrying out the death penalty.

According to Mizan, the judiciary’s news, Fazeli Zare had been accused of “insulting the Prophet of Islam, blasphemy, apostasy, accusing the Prophet of Islam’s mother of adultery, and burning the Quran”, while Mehrad was charged with “insulting the Prophet of Islam and blasphemy.”

The prisoners were among seven individuals arrested for running a Telegram channel named “Criticism of Superstition and Religion,” and had been held in solitary confinement for two months since their arrest.

In the first two parts of their legal case, the Arak Criminal Court sentenced Mehrad and Fazeli Zare to death for insulting the prophet of Islam. In the third part, the Arak Revolutionary Court sentenced Mehrad, Fazeli Zare, and another co-defendant, Farhad Chehrehsa, to eight years for “running groups to act national security.”
Despite an appeal by their lawyers to the Supreme Court, the verdict was upheld.

Mehrad was a resident of Ardabil and the father of a three-year-old child.

Teacher Mohammad Ghanati Arrested in Arak

On April 10, 2023, Mohammad Ghanati, a teacher and resident of Arak, was arrested after an appearance at the Public and Revolutionary Court of Arak.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, on April 10, 2023, teacher Mohammad Ghanati was arrested in Arak.

Ghanati reportedly was arrested after he was summoned and appeared at the Public and Revolutionary Court of Arak. He was summoned for accusations of “disturbing public order and propaganda against the regime.”

 

 

Lawyer Mohammad Najafi Sentenced to Three Years and Paying a Fine

The Criminal and Revolutionary Courts of Arak have sentenced lawyer Mohammad Najafi to a total of three years in prison and a fine for two parts of a legal case.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Mohammad Najafi, an attorney at law, was sentenced to three years and paying a fine for a legal case opened against him while he was in prison.

Najafi stated that he was sentenced to two years in prison and a 15-million-toman fine by Branch 106 of the Arak Criminal Court for “spreading falsehood” and to one year in prison by Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court for “propaganda against the regime”.

Najafi clarified that he did not attend the court and did not object to the verdict nor submit a plea of no contest for any part of the legal case. He stated that the reason for this legal case was due to his submission of a voice recording in prison showing support for the nationwide protests, which led to charges against his sister and brother as well.

Najafi has faced several other legal cases on prior occasions. In his last legal case, for the first part, he received three years in prison for insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran and four months for spreading falsehood. In December 2018, for the second part of this legal case, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for “propaganda against the regime,” “insulting the Supreme Leader,” and “collaborating with hostile foreign countries by giving interviews with the Voice of America and Persian BBC.”

For the first part, he was pardoned and released from jail under a “pardon and commute” directive approved by Iran’s Supreme Leader. However, four days later, he was re-arrested and jailed in Arak Prison for the second part of this case.

In another legal case, Najafi received two years in prison and a fine for spreading falsehood to disturb public opinion after writing an open letter addressing Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran. This verdict was upheld on appeal. He was given this sentence while he had already been sentenced to one year in prison for the same charges in December 2018.

Furthermore, in February 2020, Najafi received six months in prison for attending and giving a speech at a ceremony in commemoration of Sattar Beheshti, a blogger who was tortured and killed in custody.

Ultimately, from all the above charges, Najafi received 10 years in prison for the charge of “collaboration with hostile foreign countries by giving interviews with the Voice of America and Persian BBC,” which was the charge with the severest punishment. This sentence was later reduced to four years and six months.

 

 

 

Inmate Executed in Arak Prison

On March 12, 2023, Araka Prison officials executed an inmate convicted of drug-related crimes.

According to reports obtained by HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on March 12, 2023, an inmate identified as Salman Momeni was executed in Arak Prison, Markazi Province, Iran.

An informed source told HRANA, “Momeni was executed without having last family visitation.”

None of the official sources and media outlets inside the country has reported this execution 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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Protestor Mina Yaghoubi Sentenced to Eleven Years and 85 Lashes

Mina Yaghoubi, one of the defendants of a legal case known as “insulting the Martyrs’ cemetery of Arak”,  was sentenced to eleven years in prison, 85 lashes and additional punishments.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Mina Yaghoubi was sentenced to imprisonment and flogging.

In a video published on social media, Yaghoubi stated that the Revolutionary Court sentenced her to eight years and prohibited her from residing in the city of residence for two years. Additionally, the Criminal Court sentenced her to three years in prison, 85 lashes and 124 hours of cleaning graves as penal labor.

Without mentioning the charges, she stated that during the past three months, she did not speak out about these verdicts hoping that her lawyer’s objection led to commuting the sentences.

Yaghoubi was arrested and accused of throwing stones toward the Martyrs’ memorial gate of a cemetery in Arak.

At the time of her release from detention, a video of Yaghoubi showed bruises on her eyes after her release, indicating she has been tortured during detention.

Nationwide Protests in Iran Continue on Day Sixteen

On October 1, 2022, despite the heavy presence of riot police and plainclothes security agents, Iranian people held demonstrations in many cities including Mashhad, Rasht, Dehgolan, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tehran, Shahrekord, Shahin Shahr, Arak, Bukan, Babol, Karaj. Moreover, on at least 27 universities campus, the students held protests. These protests continued in Tehran, Isfahan, Bushehr and at least 25 universities on the following day, October 2.

The map below shows the geographical distribution of protests across Iran during the last 48 hours.

In most cases, peaceful student protests turned violent by the police as dozens of students were arrested by the security forces. On the University of Isfahan campus, the security agents or the police fired tear gas at the crowd of protesting students.

Last night, the police and security forces surrounded the Sharif University of Technology, chasing and arresting violently the students who left the campus. The police fired tear gas and pellet guns, leading to several students’ injuries. 

According to Iran’s Student Union, several protesting students were trapped in a university building by university security agents and then arrested by the police.

The students chanted slogans such as “Death to the dictator”, “don’t call it protests, it is now a revolution”, and “jailed students should be freed.” They also chanted slogans against the Supreme Leader, Khamenei.

On October 2, in Isfahan and Piranshahr, traders and shopkeepers joined the general strike and closed their shops.

Meanwhile, in recent days, the record-breaking hashtag Mahsa Amini (مهسا_امینی#) reached over 200 million times on Twitter.

Like the previous days, most parts of the country, especially Kurdistan, faced internet and mobile phone disruptions and outages.

Last Friday, September 30, in Zahedan, in Sistan and Baluchistan province, the security forces opened fire at the crowd of protestors coming from the Friday prayer. According to Iranian Sunni cleric Molavi Abdul Hamid, at least 40 people were killed in this incident.

The number of people arrested is increasing day on day. HRANA identified 31 arrests alone for yesterday.

Kurdistan police chief claimed that more than 150 people arrested during the “unrest” have been released.

It is estimated that 30 to 40 students at the Sharif University of Technology were arrested.

Anti-riot police and security forces use live ammunition against the protestors. HRANA has identified 150 death tolls, of which some have been verified by HRANA after fact-checking.

Below is the compilation of the videos from the protests in the past 24 hours.

HRANA’s Daily Review of Protests in Iran

On Wednesday, August 10, at least 10 protests and one labour strike took place in Iran.

The retirees of Iran Air (The National Airline of Iran) gathered before this Airline pension fund in Tehran to protest against the merger of the fund and the Civil Servants Pension Organization.

The pensioners of the Social Security Organization continued their protest in Khorramabad, Kermanshah, Babol, Rasht, Arak and Kerman. During their rally in Kermanshah, three pensioners were arrested but released after a few hours.

 

 

The residents of the village Dariab in Lorestan Province protested against the pollution of their village by the sewage of an industrial town. As a protest, they blocked the road connecting this industrial town to the village.

In Kermanshah, truck drivers went on strike in protest against their poor living conditions, low fares, expensive auto parts and fuel shortage.

 

HRANA’s Daily Review of Protests in Iran

On Tuesday, August 9, at least 10 protests took place in Iran.

The pensioners of the Social Security Organization took to the streets again and rallied in Ahvaz, Shush, Arak, Shushtar, Dezful, Tehran and Isfahan. They asked to free imprisoned pensioners and levelling up pensions in accordance with Supreme Labor Council’s enactment.

A number of residents of Bazoft, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, gathered before the district governor’s office to protest against the local authorities’ inattention to address the pollution of drinking water. They hanged bottles of polluted water to the entrance door of the district governor’s office.

The workers of the Aram Pars Company working in the petrochemical industry went on strike in protest against delayed wages.

A number of workers of a contractor company working in Mashhad’s Power Plant gathered before the company entrance to ask for wages.

 

HRANA’s Daily Review of Protests in Iran

On Saturday, August 6 and Sunday, August 7, at least 8 protests took place in Iran.

The workers of the Regional Electricity Organization in Hormozgan, Khuzestan and East Azerbaijan Provinces gathered before this organization building in each city. According to these protestors, six months after the beginning of the year, the company has not yet announced how much their salaries will increase.

The pensioners continued their protests in Ardabil, Arak and Ahvaz. They asked to free imprisoned pensioners and levelling up pensions in accordance with Supreme Labor Council’s enactment.

A number of residents of Shadegan, Khuzestan Province, gathered before the Regional Electricity Organization to protest against frequent power blackouts.

On Sunday, August 7, the volunteer firefighters of the NGO Anjoman Sabz Chia gathered before the Governor’s office in Mariwan to protest against the local authorities’ inattention to recent wildfires.