Execution-Condemned Prisoner Dies by Suicide in Tabriz Prison

News sources reported that an execution-condemned prisoner died on Wednesday, February 7, after a "suicide" in Tabriz Central Prison. The Rokna news agency in Iran identified the prisoner as "Hasan" and stated that he was sentenced to death for "premeditated murder" during a "group armed robbery" in late February 2021, which resulted in the deaths of several citizens in Tabriz. In this joint case, another defendant named "Asghar" was sentenced to death twice for "committing two counts of premeditated murder." This suicide incident in Tabriz is not the first, as several prisoners have previously taken their lives in protest against violations of their rights. In recent weeks, political prisoner Vahid Chavaran was hospitalized after a suicide attempt in Ilam. This political prisoner was sentenced to "12 years in prison in Zahedan" by the second branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Ilam, and he attempted suicide in protest against this sentence. Additionally, another prisoner named "Amir Shahbazi," who was awaiting a sentence of "finger amputation" for "theft" in Urmia prison, committed suicide by taking pills in protest against the violent behavior of prison officials who intended to transfer him to solitary confinement. Furthermore, Mahdi Maskinnavaz, a political prisoner in Evin, set himself on fire in protest against "the termination of contact with his daughter" and was transferred to the hospital. The wave of suicides among Iranian students was discussed in an interview with Saba Alaleh. A prisoner condemned to hand amputation in Urmia prison also committed suicide, highlighting the rising number of suicides in Iran. Mawlawi Abdulhamid called for explanations from government agencies regarding the circumstances of Sepehr Shirani's death. Iranian media reported a fivefold increase in the suicide rate within the medical community.