Tag: Karaj

Execution of Five Inmates, Including Female Prisoner, in Rajai Shahr Prison

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Executions, News
Fatemeh Yousefabadi, HRANA, Karaj, Rajai Shahr Prison

On July 12, 2023, Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj witnessed the execution of five individuals, one of whom was a woman, all convicted of murder.

HRANA has identified the executed woman as Fatemeh Yousefabadi. Just one day before her execution, she was transferred from Qarchak Prison to solitary confinement in Rajai Shahr Prison, where the final verdict was carried out.

HRANA is working on identifying three other inmates.

At present, no official sources or media outlets within the country have reported on these executions.

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.

Teacher Union Activist Esmail Abdi Remains Detained for Months Despite Retrial Approval

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News
Esmaeil Abdi, Esmail Abdi, Evin Courthouse, Kachooie Prison, Karaj

HRANA, Human Rights Activists News Agency – Esmail (Esmaeil) Abdi, a teacher union activist, continues to be held in Kachooie Prison, Karaj, for over seven months after his request for a retrial was granted.

Monireh Abdi, his wife, shared with HRANA that “Despite the Supreme Court’s approval for a retrial, judicial officials are refusing to grant him bail. Seven months have passed, and Branch 29 of the Revolutionary Court has yet to review the case.”

“Abdi is currently confined in the military ward of Kachooie Prison. After repeated requests, the judicial authorities offered him a five-day furlough on a bail amount of one billion tomans. However, Abdi declined this leave, pointing out that since the Supreme Court overturned the verdict, he should be released on bail as per the law.”
Abdi’s retrial request was accepted by the Supreme Court on November 16, 2022.

On June 27, 2015, Abdi was arrested and interrogated for several hours at Evin Courthouse when he inquired about the reason for being prohibited from leaving the country. Following six months of detention, in March of the subsequent year, he was sentenced to six years in prison by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran on charges of “propaganda against the regime and assembly and collusion against national security,” with five years being enforceable.

Previously, Abdi had received a ten-year suspended sentence, intended to last for five years. However, during the last months of his five-year sentence, the court reactivated the suspended sentence by order.

13 Baha’i Citizens Sentenced to Over 40 Years in Prison Combined

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News, Religious Minorities
Afif Naimi, Alborz province, Baha'i citizens, Bita Momtazi, Elham Shareghi Arani, HRANA, Kamyar Habibi, Karaj, Mahsa Tirgar, Nakisa Rezaie, Negin Rezaie, Rameleh Tirgarnejad, Sabin Yazdani, Sadaf Sheikhzadeh, Sahba Adyani, Saman Ostovar, Shahrzad Mastouri

The Court of Appeals in Karaj has issued a combined sentence of 40 years and seven months, along with additional punishments, for 13 Baha’i citizens.

The verdicts state that Afif Na’imi (Naeimi) will serve seven years, while Saman Ostovar and Kamyar Habibi will each serve five years. Rameleh Tirgarnejad, Elham Shareghi Arani, and Sabin Yazdani have been sentenced to three years. Mahsa Tirgar, Shahrzad Mastouri, Sadaf Sheikhzadeh, Negin Rezaie, Nakisa Rezaie, Sahba Adyani, and Bita Momtazi will serve two years and one month. Additionally, all individuals have been fined, prohibited from leaving the country, and restricted from residing in Alborz Province, along with other social deprivations.
They have been convicted of multiple charges such as “insulting and propaganda against Islamic Sharia, forming and running groups to act against national security through preaching Baha’i faith to children in Kindergartens, promoting against Islamic Sharia through holding coaching courses.”

The court session took place on June 15, 2023, without notifying their lawyers. The initial sentences have now been upheld and will be enforced within ten days, as confirmed by a reliable source who spoke to HRANA.

These citizens were detained during the summer of the previous year. While the specific grounds for the charges remain undisclosed, they appear to be related to their educational activities for children in Alborz Province, particularly preschool children. The Iranian regime perceives the peaceful activities of Baha’is in providing humanitarian aid and education as a threat to its own ideology.

According to HRANA annual report, from the total human rights reports regarding the violation of religious minorities’ rights, 64.63% belonged to the violation of the rights of Baha’is.

Multiple Executions Carried Out in Yasuj, Shiraz, Karaj

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Executions, News
Abbasali Soleimani, Alireza Shahcheragh, Karaj, Mazandaran, Milad Ghobadi, Modara, Shiraz, Taher Nouri, Yasuj

Four inmates, convicted of drug-related crimes and murder, were executed in Yasuj, Shiraz and Karaj. Also, according to Modara, an individual was sentenced to death by the criminal court of Mazandaran accused of killing the parliament member, Abbasali Soleimani.

According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, on June 11, two inmates, Alireza Shahcheragh and Taher Nouri (aged 38), were executed at Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. Nouri had been sentenced to death three years prior.
Furthermore, on June 14, Milad Ghobadi, an inmate held at Yasuj Prison, was executed.
In another incident reported by Javan Online on June 13, an unidentified inmate was executed at Rajai Shahr Prison. The individual had been charged with the murder of his wife three years ago.

Update on Bahai Citizen Payam Vali’s Condition in Ghezel Hesar Prison

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News, Prisoners, Religious Minorities
Baha'i citizen, Ghezel Hesar prison, HRANA, Karaj, Payam Vali, Rajai Shahr Prison

Payam Vali, a Baha’i citizen, is currently serving a six-year sentence in Ghezel Hesar Prison, located in Karaj. He has been denied access to make a phone call to his family, as ordered by prison officials.

According to a reliable source who spoke to HRANA, Vali’s phone card has been blocked. He is also prohibitd from purchasing any item from the prison store. The source revealed that this prohibition was imposed after Vali gave a message via phone addressing the speakers of the Iranian Parliament.

In addition, another source close to Vali’s family informed HRANA that since late May, he has only had one visitation with his family. Furthermore, other prisoners have been threatened to refrain from providing Vali with their phone cards.

On September 24, 2022, security forces arrested Vali at his residence in Karaj, subsequently conducting a search of his house and detaining him in Rajai Shahr Prison. He was later relocated to Ghezel Hesar prison.

On May 10, 2023, the Alborz Court of Appeals sentenced Vali to six years for “collaboration with adversary countries,” three years and one month for “inciting people to commit violence,” and eight months for “propaganda against the regime.” According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the first charge carries an enforceable prison term of six years. It is worth noting that Vali had initially been sentenced in February 2023 to ten, five, and one-year terms for the respective charges mentioned above.

According to HRANA annual report, from the full human rights reports regarding the violation of religious minorities’ rights, 64.63% belonged to the violation of the rights of Baha’is.

The deprivation of the freedom to practice their religion is a breach of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations covenant holds that every person has the right to freedom of religion, freedom of converting religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly.

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Four Inmates Executed in Hamedan and Karaj

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Executions, News
Hamed Yavari, Hamedan prison, Hossein Amani-Nejad, Karaj, Masoud Sasani, Saeed Nasiri

On June 11, 2023, authorities in Hamedan Prison carried out the execution of two prisoners involved in separate cases of drug-related crimes and murder.

The inmates have been identified as Hossein Amani-Nejad and Hamed Yavari, with Amani-Nejad convicted of drug offenses four years ago and Yavari found guilty of the murder of his sister-in-law six years ago, according to HRANA.

Furthermore, on June 10, two inmates named Masoud Sasani and Saeed Nasiri were executed at the Central Prison of Karaj for their involvement in drug-related crimes.

At the time of writing, no official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have reported on these executions.

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.

 

Four Inmates Executed in Karaj and Kahnuj 

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Executions, News
Arya Parvizi, Ashkan Sohrabi, Hassan Nourollahi, Hossein Roosta, Kahnuj, Karaj, Kerman, Rajai-Shahr

HRANA, Human Rights Activists News Agency –On May 31, 2023, Rajai Shahr Prison officials carried out the execution of two inmates who were convicted of murder.

HRANA has identified them as Hassan Nourollahi and Hossein Roosta.

Additionally, two inmates, Ashkan Sohrabi and Arya Parvizi, were executed in Kahnuj, Kerman Province, on June 1, 2023, for their involvement in drug-related crimes three years ago, as reported by the Baloch Activists Campaign.

At the time of writing, no official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have reported on these executions.

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.

 

 

Workers’ Rights Activist Farhad Sheikhi Arrested

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Freedom of Expression, News
Erfan Karam Veisi, Farhad Sheikhi, Hashtgerd, Karaj, Rajai Shahr Prison

HRANA, Human Rights Activists News Agency- On May 28, 2023, workers’ rights activist Farhad Sheikhi was apprehended at his residence in Hashtgerd, Karaj, and taken to an undisclosed location.

According to Sheikhi’s lawyer, Erfan Karam Veisi, it was revealed that agents from the Ministry of Intelligence were responsible for his arrest.

This is not the first time Sheikhi have faced arrest and legal action for his activism. Last time, on January 21, 2023, security forces arrested him and jailed him in Rajai Shahr Prison. He was relocated to the Central Prison of Karaj after 16 days.

This worker’s rights activist was released under the “pardon and commutation” directive on February 7, 2023.

Four Inmates Executed for Drug-Related Crimes in Ghezel Hesar Prison

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Executions, News
aeed Geravand, Ghezel Hesar, Karaj, Samad Geravand, Shahab Mansouri Nasab, Shahram Sharghi

On May 20, 2023, four inmates convicted of drug-related crimes were executed in Ghezel Hesar prison, Karaj.

HRANA has identified them as Saeed Geravand, Samad Geravand, Shahab Mansouri Nasab and Shahram Sharghi.
A knowledgeable informant speaking to HRANA revealed that a number of inmates had initiated a hunger strike in protest of the escalating number of executions. Prior to their scheduled executions, these four inmates, along with three others, were relocated to solitary confinement, as reported by HRANA earlier.

At the time of writing, no official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have reported on these executions.

In recent weeks, the number of execution has been alarmingly raised.
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.

 

Bahai Citizen Payam Vali Sentenced to Nine Years and Nine Months in Prison

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News, Prisoners, Religious Minorities
Alborz province, Baha'i citizen, Karaj, Payam Vali

Bahai citizen Payam Vali has been sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison by the Alborz Court of Appeals, with six years to be served. Previously, he had received a 16-year prison sentence.

The verdict, issued on May 10, 2023, states that Vali was given six years for “collaboration with adversary countries,” three years and one month for “inciting people to commit violence,” and eight months for “propaganda against the regime.” The first count carries an enforceable six-year prison term under Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code.
Initially, in February 2023, Vali had been sentenced to ten, five, and one-year terms for the aforementioned charges, respectively.

On September 24, 2022, security forces arrested Vali at his house in Karaj, searched the house, and detained him in Rajai Shahr Prison.

According to HRANA annual report, from the full human rights reports regarding the violation of religious minorities’ rights, 64.63% belonged to the violation of the rights of Baha’is.

According to unofficial sources, it is estimated that more than 300,000 Baha’is live in Iran, but the Iranian Constitution recognizes only Islam as the official religion, in addition to Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Bahai faith is not considered legitimate by the authorities, and the rights of Baha’is in Iran have been systematically violated for years.

Freedom of religion is a breach of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations Covenant holds that every person has the right to practice religion freely, freedom of converting to a religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly.