Execution of 11 Prisoners in Qazalhessar Ahead of World Day Against the Death Penalty

On the eve of World Day Against the Death Penalty, Iranian judicial authorities executed 11 prisoners, including a woman and a retired educator, at Qazalhessar prison in Alborz province early Wednesday morning. According to the website 'Halosh' on Wednesday, October 10, at least 11 prisoners, including six labeled as 'security' prisoners, a woman, and a retired teacher, were executed on Thursday morning, October 10, in Qazalhessar prison. The report did not detail the charges against the six prisoners labeled as 'security,' but previously, the Islamic Republic has often condemned dissenting citizens to death under this label with accusations such as 'espionage, corruption on earth, waging war against God, and rebellion.' Among those executed were two citizens from Sistan and Baluchestan identified as 'Ahmad Naroui, 33, and Mohammad Es'haghzahi, 31, both from and residing in Zahedan.' Another executed individual was identified as Saeed Safaie, approximately 55 years old, from Harsin in Kermanshah province and a retired educator. The cases of these three individuals were related to drug offenses. The Iranian Human Rights Activists organization also identified one of the executed as Mehdi Barahoui, reporting that he was underage at the time of his arrest, being less than 18 years old. Halosh also reported that six of the executed prisoners were transferred from Rajai Shahr prison for execution, while two others, including one woman, were from the general prisoner section of Qazalhessar. Concurrently with these executions and ahead of World Day Against the Death Penalty, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, May Sato, stated in a video message to the 24-hour support program for the 'Tuesdays Against the Death Penalty' campaign that 'at least 500 executions have been reported in Iran since the beginning of this calendar year,' which, according to her, 'includes the use of the death penalty against women activists and supporters of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.' Furthermore, according to the Iranian Human Rights Activists organization, from October 10, 2023, to October 8, 2024, at least 811 individuals were executed in various regions of Iran, four of which were in public. During this period, death sentences were issued for 186 prisoners, with three of them sentenced to public execution. In a joint statement released by the Iranian Human Rights Activists organization and the Abdolrahman Boroumand Foundation on Tuesday, October 9, it was noted that at least 811 executions had been documented by these organizations in the past year: 'The Islamic Republic of Iran accounted for over 75% of the total recorded executions globally in 2023, executing at least 811 Iranians from October 2023 to October 2024, and registering the highest number of executions of women in the past decade with 23 women executed during this period.' Moein Khazaeli, a lawyer and human rights activist, told Voice of America that the Islamic Republic increases the number of executions whenever it feels threatened.