Tag: Mashhad

Two Prisoners Executed in Mashhad Prison

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Executions, News
Mashhad, Musa Najjar, Ramazan Gholamian

The death sentences of two prisoners, previously convicted of murder in separate cases, were carried out in Mashhad Prison, as reported by Iran Human Rights Organization.

Their identities have been reported as Ramazan Gholamian, 32, and Musa Najjar, 38, both residents of Mashhad.

The report states that Najjar was convicted and sentenced to death for killing a motorcyclist with a knife during a fight in Mashhad, in July 2021. Additionally, Gholamian’s death sentence was issued approximately two years ago for premeditated murder.

No official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have provided coverage of these executions at the time of writing.
In 2023, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran registered the execution of 767 individuals. Out of these, 7 were carried out in public. Among the executed individuals whose genders were identified, 21 were female. Additionally, 2 juvenile offenders, defined as individuals under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged crimes, were also executed.

Mohammad Nourizad Receives Five Years for New Case While Imprisoned

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Freedom of Expression, News
Evin Prison, Kamal Jafari Yazdi, Mashhad, Mohammad Nourizad, محمد نوریزاد

Mohammad Nourizad, a civil activist imprisoned in Evin Prison, has been sentenced to five years in prison due to a new case recently opened against him during his incarceration.

A page attributed to this civil activist reported that on Sunday, July 21, 2024, a hearing on Mr. Nourizad’s charges was held via video conference in his absence. Consequently, without having the opportunity to defend himself against the charges, he was sentenced to an additional five years in prison. The release of an audio file from prison has been cited as one of the charges against him.

In February of 2024, Nourizad was sentenced to an additional 61 months in prison due to another case opened against him during his imprisonment.

In July 2023, in yet another case, Nourizad was sentenced to two years in prison by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

On August 11, 2019, Mohammad Nourizad was arrested by security forces in connection with a letter signed by 14 civil activists calling for the resignation of Ayatollah Khamenei and for his presence in front of the building where Kamal Jafari Yazdi’s appeal hearing was held. He was eventually transferred from Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad to Evin Prison in 2020.

Nourizad’s legal ordeal began on August 11, 2019, when he was arrested by security forces for participating in the drafting of an open letter with 13 other civil rights activists, calling for the Supreme Leader of Iran to step down. In the initial case, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, three years of exile in Izeh, and a two-year travel ban. Although the prison sentence was upheld on appeal, the duration of exile and travel ban were reduced to two years.

In late April 2020, Nourizad received an additional one-year imprisonment for expressing support for Baha’i citizens in Eyvanki, Semnan Province.

Concerning the second part of his legal case, the Mashhad Criminal Court sentenced Nourizad to 8 months in prison and 74 lashes, along with exile to Tabas, for “disturbance of public order.” He also received an additional 74 lashes for “spreading falsehood.” This verdict was upheld on appeal as well.

Nourizad was released from Evin Prison on November 17, 2021, based on an early release order. However, on January 23, 2022, he was summoned and re-incarcerated in Evin Prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Nourizad has a history of arrests and convictions linked to his peaceful activism. He is a prominent filmmaker, writer, director, and journalist from Iran. While previously known as an outspoken religious journalist, he has become an active critic of the Islamic Republic in recent years.

A Report on the Latest Situation of Ali Pasban in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad

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News, Prisoners
Ali Pasban, Isfahan, Kashan, Mashhad, Political Prisoner, Vakilabad prison, علی پاسبان

Ali Pasban, a political prisoner, is serving his seven-year sentence in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad. He is being held in the same ward as prisoners convicted of violent crimes, in violation of prison regulations.

A source close to Mr. Pasban’s family told HRANA, “He is being held in the violent criminals’ ward, Salon 102, Ward 5 of Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, without adherence to the principle of separation of crimes. Recently, after he protested against the inappropriate behavior of a prison official, he was threatened. The guards told him they would hire individuals in that ward to harm him. He reported to his family about ongoing harassment, threats, and the danger to his life, and requested legal assistance.”

This citizen was arrested on August 26, 2021, in Mashhad and transferred to Vakilabad Prison in this city. In January 2022, he was sentenced to seven years in prison by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad on charges of “membership in opposition groups intending to disrupt national security.”
Additionally, in March-April 2022, he was sentenced to one year in prison on charges of “insulting the Supreme Leader.”
Mr. Pasban had previously been convicted and served prison sentences in Isfahan and Kashan in 2018 and 2019 on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.”

Four Prisoners Executed in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad

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Executions, News
Citizens executed, HRANA, Mashhad, Vakilabad prison

On June 30, 2024, four inmates previously sentenced to death on drug-related charges were executed in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad.

These prisoners were hanged at dawn on Sunday, June 30th. Two of them were from Mashhad, one was from Quchan, and the other was an Afghan national. They had previously been arrested on drug-related charges and subsequently sentenced to death. The two prisoners from Mashhad were arrested in 2019.

Based on information received by HRANA, the execution of these prisoners was carried out without a final meeting with their families. Two of them were identified by HRANA as Yaser Ghafoorian and 47-year-old Mohammad Hooshyar Alizadeh.

No official sources or domestic media outlets within the country have provided coverage of these executions at the time of writing.

According to data gathered by the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj witnessed the highest number of executions in 2023, with Zahedan Prison following closely behind. For a comprehensive examination of the details and statistics surrounding the executions in Iran, refer to HRANA’s report.

Political Detainee Ramin Haeri Remains in Detention for Over 120 Days of Uncertainty

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News, Prisoners
HRANA, Javad Haeri, Mashhad, Ramin Haeri

Javad (Ramin) Haeri, a political detainee, has remained in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad for nearly four months since his arrest by security forces. He has been co-housed with prisoners of violent crime, which violates prison rules dictating the separation of prisoners based on the nature of their offenses.

According to HRANA, Mr. Haeri continues to be held in uncertainty alongside violent offenders in Ward Five of Vakilabad Prison, despite 121 days having passed since his arrest. Haeri has been charged in Branch 906 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Mashhad with multiple accusations, including “insulting the Supreme Leader,” “propaganda against the regime,” and “disturbing public opinion.” However, no court session has been held for him so far.

Haeri was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents at his home in Mashhad on February 27, 2024, and was taken to The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility in the city.

He was eventually transferred to Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad, on March 28, 2024.

Previously, a source close to the family of this political detainee told HRANA: “Despite providing the bail, the officials at the Prosecutor’s Office of Mashhad are refusing his release.”

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Reza Kosari in Extended Detention by Ministry of Intelligence in Mashhad

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News, Prisoners
HRANA, Mashhad, Reza Kosari

Reza Kosari, a Mashhad resident, has been detained for over four months at the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention center in Mashhad without a definitive legal status.

According to HRANA, Kosari was apprehended by intelligence agents in Mashhad in February 2024 and placed in solitary confinement. Since his arrest, he has managed only two brief phone calls and one face-to-face visit with his family.

A source close to Kosari’s family relayed to HRANA, “Mr. Kosari, a pharmacist with several pharmacies in Mashhad, had his premises searched by intelligence agents in January this year, allegedly for hoarding medication. His case was subsequently referred to a public court where he received a 30 million tomans fine for possession of some prohibited medications. It appears, however, that his arrest might be more connected to his support for political prisoners and for families of victims and the injured from the nationwide protests of 2022.”

Up to now, the specific accusations against Kosari remain undisclosed.

Iran’s Supreme Court Overturns Death Sentence of Political Prisoner Seyed Mohammad-Javad Vafaie Again

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Executions, News, Prisoners
Mashhad, Mohammad-Javad Vafaie, محمد جواد وفایی

In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of Iran has for the second time overturned the death sentence of Seyed Mohammad-Javad Vafaie, a 28-year-old boxing coach turned political prisoner. His case has now been reassigned to another branch for a new trial.

Babak Paknia, the attorney for Vafaie, confirmed the development to the public.

Vafaie was initially arrested by security forces in Mashhad in March 2020 and has since been detained in Vakilabad Prison.

He was originally sentenced to death in January 2020 on charges of “spreading corruption on earth” by committing arson and deliberately destroying public property, including a penitentiary facility. Despite the Supreme Court overturning this initial verdict, Branch 2 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court reimposed the death sentence in July 2023, necessitating another Supreme Court review which resulted in the recent overturn.

Five-Year Sentence for Mohammad-Hassan Sadeghian Confirmed by Appellate Court

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News, Prisoners
Mashhad, Mohammad-Hassan Sadeghian, Vakilabad prison, محمد حسن صادقیان

The Appellate Court of Razavi Khorasan Province has upheld the five-year prison sentence of Mohammad-Hassan Sadeghian, who was detained during the nationwide protests in 2022. He is currently incarcerated in Vakilabad Prison.

Originally, the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad convicted Sadeghian on several charges, including “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propaganda against the regime,” and “disturbing public order.”

Sadeghian was arrested at his home on September 25, 2022, and has been held in Vakilabad Prison since his arrest.

Hassan Bagherinia, Ex-Faculty of Hakim Sabzevari University, Detained

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Freedom of Expression, News
Hassan Bagherinia, Mashhad, حسن باقری نیا

On June 2, 2024, Hassan Bagherinia, a former faculty member at Hakim Sabzevari University, was detained after visiting the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s offices in Mashhad and subsequently taken to an undisclosed location.

Following his detention, security personnel conducted a search of Bagherinia’s home, during which they seized various personal items belonging to him and his family.

Details regarding the reasons for Bagherinia’s arrest, his current location, and any specific charges have not been disclosed. Bagherinia has previously faced legal challenges related to his activism.

Ali Aghel Begins Four-Year Sentence on Political Charges

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News, Prisoners
Ali Aghel, Ali-Asghar Aghel Moghaddam, Mashhad, Vakilabad prison, علی عاقل

Ali-Asghar Aghel Moghaddam, a resident of Mashhad, was transferred to Vakilabad Prison on May 9, 2024, to commence a four-year prison term.

Aghel was initially arrested on October 23, 2023, following his appearance at the Public and Revolutionary Courthouse in Mashhad. He was detained at Vakilabad Prison but was released on bail six days later, pending further legal proceedings.

The Revolutionary Courts subsequently convicted Aghel for “membership in anti-regime groups,” resulting in a four-year sentence, and for “propaganda against the regime,” which carried a one-year sentence. The combined verdict was upheld on appeal.

According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, which stipulates that the harshest sentence is enforced in cases involving multiple charges, Aghel is required to serve a four-year term.