Execution of 10 Prisoners in One Day; Iran Human Rights Organization Warns Against Public Executions

With the execution of at least 10 prisoners on Thursday, May 25, in the cities of Kerman, Sanandaj, Urmia, Golestan, and Jiroft, the number of prisoners executed in Iranian prisons over the past week reached 15. According to Hengaw, at least three prisoners named Ali Shahriari, 40, from Narmashir, Qaderbakhsh Dehghani, 39, from Zahedan, and Abdolrasool Jamshidi, 55, from Fars province, were executed in Kerman for drug-related offenses. Additionally, the execution of a prisoner from Kerman, who had been sentenced to death for murder, was carried out, although his identity remains unknown. The human rights organization added that in the central prison of Golestan, the death sentences of two prisoners previously convicted of murder were executed. The identity of one of these two prisoners, Shaban Yousefi, has been confirmed, while the other has the surname 'Bazi'. According to the report, a prisoner from Kermanshah named Saeed Mohammadi Far, who had previously been sentenced to death for murder, was executed in the central prison of Sanandaj. Simultaneously, the execution of a prisoner named Amir Mahdi, who had been sentenced to death for 'corruption on earth', was carried out in one of the streets of Maragheh, witnessed by a number of people, including women and children. In this regard, Mahmoud Nemati, the prosecutor of Maragheh, stated that 'citizens' appreciated the execution of this prisoner, a claim that comes amid widespread protests against executions by Iranians in recent days. Hengaw also reported that on Tuesday, May 23, the death sentences of two prisoners named Majid Jafari and Ali Tabib were executed in the Dashtgardi prison in Isfahan. These two prisoners had previously been sentenced to death for drug-related offenses. On the same day, the execution of Saeed Mohammadi from Kermanshah was carried out after 12 years of imprisonment in the central prison of this city, and a man who had previously been sentenced to death for drug-related offenses and the murder of a police officer was executed in the central prison of Bandar Abbas. Hengaw expressed concern over the increasing wave of executions in Iran and called on the international community and human rights organizations to intervene to prevent further executions of citizens in Iran. Warning about the resumption of public executions, the Iran Human Rights Organization, referring to the execution of a prisoner accused of 'corruption on earth' in public in Maragheh, warned about the resumption of public executions and called for 'serious international community response to stop these governmental crimes'. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghadam, the director of this organization, stated that the public execution in Maragheh and its coverage in official media reveal the true face of a government that, through cruelty, humiliation, and intimidation of society, seeks to prolong its existence. He added, 'The international community should not tolerate such medieval methods in 2023' and pointed out that 'placing a representative of such a government on the podium of the Human Rights Council severely undermines the credibility of this council.' Previously, he reported that on the morning of Thursday, May 25, the execution of a man in public in Maragheh was carried out. This prisoner had been sentenced to death for 'corruption on earth through widespread corruption and prostitution'. According to the report, this prisoner had been detained since 2016 and sentenced to death. The Iran Human Rights Organization noted that in 2022, two individuals were executed in public. The public execution in Maragheh is the first public execution of this year, raising concerns that without appropriate responses from Iranian society and the international community, this sends the wrong message to the government that it has a free hand in committing this public crime. The Iran Human Rights Organization also pointed out that children were present to witness the public execution and called on international bodies responsible for child welfare, including UNICEF, to take decisive action to hold the Islamic Republic accountable for this act.