Execution of 11 Individuals in Iran; Zartosht Ahmadi-Raghab: The Government Aims to Create 'Silence'

Human rights sources reported that the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic executed at least 11 prisoners in the provinces of Alborz, Mazandaran, Qom, and Kermanshah. In this context, Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab, a political prisoner, stated in a message received by Voice of America that the government is attempting to force people into 'silence and oppression' through these executions. Concurrently with reports of the execution of at least five prisoners in Qazalhesar prison, Zartosht Ahmadi Raghab, a political prisoner in this Alborz province prison, emphasized the solidarity and unity of political prisoners in advancing the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign, stating: 'The sharp blade and the cutting sword of issuing and executing death sentences are still in the hands of the tyrannical rulers, and they have raised the sword of executions to force the protesting people into silence and oppression.' Mr. Ahmadi Raghab stressed: 'But the nation always has one message for dictators: We will overthrow you!' According to a report from the Human Rights Activists in Iran on Thursday, January 20, the agents of the Islamic Republic's judiciary executed the death sentences of five prisoners, including two Afghan nationals, in Qazalhesar prison in Alborz province. This human rights organization also reported that the executed prisoners in Qazalhesar, Salman Bozorgmehr and Reza Azizian, were charged with drug-related offenses, while Ashkan Pirian and two unnamed Afghan nationals were charged with murder, and their executions took place on Wednesday, January 19. Additionally, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported that early on Wednesday, January 19, a prisoner named Milad Bao Dieselabadi from Qaemshahr was executed for murder in Sari prison in Mazandaran province. The Hengaw website also reported that four prisoners named Farman Afristam, Mozaffar Shahsavari, Mohammad Shahidi, and Ashkan Kazemi, who were sentenced to death for 'murder' in separate cases, were executed on Tuesday, January 18, in Kermanshah central prison. According to this report, Ashkan Kazemi was 'an official member of the army,' but no further details were provided regarding the reasons for the murder charge against him. This news source also reported that a prisoner named Hassan Norouzi was executed for murder in Qom central prison by the Islamic Republic's judicial authorities. According to this report, Mr. Norouzi's execution took place on Sunday, January 16, but news of it had not been published until now. The issuance and execution of death sentences under the title of 'qisas nafs' (retribution in kind) in the Islamic Republic of Iran occur under conditions where, according to governmental laws, intentional murder is not graded, and 'any type of murder, regardless of the severity and motivation of the accused, leads to the issuance of a death sentence.' Furthermore, the execution of prisoners related to drug offenses has continuously increased over the past four years by the Islamic Republic's judicial authorities, such that according to the Iran Human Rights Organization, the number of executions last year reached '471 executions,' an 84% increase compared to the previous year. Although the Islamic Republic's judiciary does not officially announce executions in many cases, according to evidence collected by independent human rights organizations, the number of executions in Iran indicates the government's position as the world's leading violator of the right to life. Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam, director of the Iran Human Rights Organization, emphasized in an interview with Voice of America that the Islamic Republic uses executions as a 'tool of repression and intimidation' against citizens. Previously, political prisoners involved in the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign have repeatedly stated that the issuance and execution of death sentences by the Islamic Republic in Iran are intended to 'create fear and terror.' The British Committee for the Freedom of Iran has also previously stated that over 250 representatives from the two major parties in the British Parliament have called for a global consensus to end executions in Iran, considering executions in Iran as a tool for the government to 'create terror.' Additionally, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Maya Sato, has criticized the human rights situation and the increase in the number of executions in the Islamic Republic's prisons, calling for a reduction in the issuance of death sentences in Iran.