Report on the Execution of 36 Prisoners in Various Prisons Across Iran

HRANA – In recent days, a broad wave of executions has continued across Iran, with dozens of prisoners, mostly charged with murder or drug-related offenses, hanged in various prisons throughout the country.

November 16:
According to Iran Human Rights, two prisoners, Sajjad Habibi from Fardis, Karaj, and Mohammadreza Besharat from Tehran, were executed in Qazvin Prison. According to the report, Sajjad Habibi had been arrested about four years ago on charges of intentional murder following a street altercation and was sentenced to death by the Criminal Court. Mohammadreza Besharat, 27, had also been arrested about six years ago on charges of intentional murder and sentenced to death.

Monday, November 17:
According to HRANA, a prisoner of Afghan nationality was hanged in Ferdows Prison on drug-related charges.

Tuesday, November 18:
On this day, HRANA reported that the death sentence of Heydar Tahmasebi, convicted of murder, was carried out in Mahshahr Prison.

Wednesday, November 19:
HRANA reported the executions of Shahrokh Sattari, convicted of murder, in Ardabil Prison, and Mohammadkarim Bastami, convicted on drug-related charges, in Quchan Prison.
Iran Human Rights also reported the execution of Kianoush Shadman, 29, in Lakan Prison of Rasht; Reza Nosrati, 25, and Mansour Deirin, 36, convicted of murder, in Adelabad Prison of Shiraz; and Hamidreza Pirhadi, 37, convicted of murder, in Borujerd Prison.

Thursday, November 20:
HRANA reported the execution of Mahan Sheikhi, convicted of murder, in Saveh Prison.
According to Iran Human Rights, Ne’mat Majidzadeh and Mehran Darabian, 27, were executed in Semnan Prison on charges of murder and rape, respectively; Mobin Ramazani from Yazd and Hassan Shokat, 43, were executed in Yazd Prison on drug-related charges; and Mozaffar Abdolvand, 30, was executed on murder charges in Dorud Prison.

Saturday, November 22:
HRANA reported the execution of Mohammad Tajik, an Afghan national, convicted of murder, in Taybad Prison.
HRANA also reported that on the same day, Sasan Misaghi (murder) in Yasuj Prison, Jassem Aghaei (murder) in Karaj Central Penitentiary, Rastin Baharvand (murder) in Khorramabad Prison, Peyman Alizadeh (drug-related offenses) in Bandar Abbas Prison, and Yaser Abdoli and Yaroli Haseli (drug-related offenses) in Dizelabad Prison in Kermanshah were executed.
HRANA further reported the execution of two additional prisoners on drug-related charges in Hamedan Prison. Details, including confirmation of the prisoners’ identities, are still under investigation by HRANA.
On the same day, Sari Prison witnessed the execution of two prisoners convicted of murder. Iran Human Rights confirmed the identity of one of them as Hooshang Hashemzadeh, 34, and HRANA confirmed the second as Amir Moradi.

Sunday, November 23:
HRANA reported the following executions:

Ayoub Zeidi, convicted of murder, in Tabriz Prison
Mousa Golpayegani, drug-related charges, in Semnan Prison
Mohammad Hossein Akbari, murder, in Dezful Prison
Amir Nosrat Piriyan, drug-related charges, in Bam Prison
Mahmoud Ali Soltanabadi and (first name unknown) Maleki, murder, in Qom Prison
Three prisoners on drug-related charges in Arak Prison, HRANA has confirmed the identity of one, Mirza Janalizadeh.

At the time of this report, the executions had not been announced by prison officials or the relevant authorities.

Seven Prisoners Executed Across Iran Over Three Days

HRANA- Over the past three days, the escalating trend of executions in various prisons across Iran has continued. This report lists the executions of seven prisoners in different prisons, as documented by HRANA. None of these executions have been announced by prison authorities or other responsible institutions.

On Tuesday, November 18, HRANA reported the execution of a prisoner named Samad Haghverdi in Borazjan Prison. According to information received by HRANA, Mr. Haghverdi had previously been arrested on a murder charge and subsequently sentenced to death by the Criminal Court.

On Wednesday, November 19, a prisoner named Fardin Khani was executed in Behbahan Prison. According to information obtained by HRANA, this prisoner had earlier been arrested on a murder charge and later sentenced to death by the Criminal Court.

On the same day, the death sentence of Mohammadreza Hosseini, a prisoner convicted of murder, was carried out in Ilam Prison. Additionally, Peyman Azizi in Dizelabad Prison in Kermanshah, Yousef Abadipour in Bushehr Prison, and Akbar Zamani in Shahr-e Kord Prison were all hanged on murder charges.

Today, Thursday, November 19, Kashmar Prison also witnessed the execution of a prisoner named Erfan Azadi, who had been convicted of murder.

Dizelabad Prison Authorities Execute Juvenile Offender Sajad Sanjari Without Notifying Family

At dawn on Monday, August 2, Sajad Sanjari was executed in Dizelabad Prison in Kermanshah. His family was not notified or allowed to visit him before the execution.

According HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Amnesty International, Sanjari was arrested in 2010 at the age of 15 on murder charges and sentenced to death.

Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, stated, “With the secret execution of Sajad Sanjari, the Iranian authorities have yet again demonstrated the utter cruelty of their juvenile justice system. The use of the death penalty against people who were under 18 at the time of the crime is absolutely prohibited under international law and constitutes a cruel assault on child rights.”

In December 2016, the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to suspend the execution of Sajad Sanjari, a juvenile accused of murder.

Iran ranks first in the world in citizen executions per capita, according to international organizations. The Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) reported that between January 1 and December 20 of 2020, at least 236 citizens were executed.

One of these citizens was executed publicly, and two were juvenile offenders. An additional 95 citizens were sentenced to death. According to the same report, more than 72% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary, which human rights organizations call “secret” executions.

Recently, in an interview with Agence France-Presse, Secretary of the state-run High Council for Human Rights, Majid Tafreshi, said that the Islamic Republic executes juvenile offenders “three to four times a year”, and claimed this should not be considered a human rights violation.

“The fact that Sajad Sanjari was executed in secret, denying his family and him even the chance to say goodbye, is an alarming pattern of the Iranian authorities carrying out executions in secret or at short notice to minimize the chances of public and private interventions to save people’s lives” Eltahawy further stated of Sanjari’s execution. “We urge the Iranian authorities to put an end to these abhorrent violations of the right to life and children’s rights by amending the penal code to ban the use of the death penalty against anyone who was under 18 at the time of the crime immediately.”