Execution of 8 More in Iran; Observers: 'The Killing Machine' is Operating Uninterrupted

Human rights sources reported on March 6 that five prisoners were executed in Tabriz and Ardabil. Additionally, judicial officials of the Islamic Republic executed three others in prisons in Hamedan, Qom, and Qazvin. According to a report by the Human Rights Activists in Iran, a prisoner identified as Jalal Ashkani from Hamedan was executed by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic in the central prison of this city on the morning of March 6. The execution of Mr. Ashkani was related to drug-related crimes, and he had been in prison since 2020, with the death sentence issued by the Revolutionary Court of Hamedan. This human rights organization also reported that on the morning of March 6, another prisoner named Iman Shakarlouzadeh, 42, from Takestan, was executed in Qazvin prison on charges of 'murder.' Furthermore, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported that a prisoner named Qasem Sarabi, 30, residing in Qaleh Hassan Khan, Tehran, who was arrested three years ago on drug-related charges, was executed in Qom prison by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic. According to a report on March 7 by the Iran Human Rights Organization, the execution of four of these individuals in the prisons of Tabriz and Ardabil was related to drug charges. This human rights organization announced that 'Ali Vatan-Khah, 27, from Parsabad, and Hassan Fathi, 36, from Hashtrood' were executed on March 1 in Ardabil prison, and the sentences of 'Ramin Alayi, 33, from Tabriz, and Mohammad Iraqi, 26, from Tabriz,' who had been in prison for three years, were also carried out on March 3 in Tabriz prison. Additionally, according to this report, another prisoner named Mohammad Iraqi, who was arrested four years ago on murder charges and sentenced to death, was executed on March 3 in Tabriz prison by the judicial authorities. The official authorities of the Islamic Republic have not yet announced the execution of these citizens. The judicial officials of the Islamic Republic usually keep the executions of citizens secret and provide little reporting and statistics on them. However, according to documentation collected by independent human rights organizations, the number of executions in Iran indicates that the government holds the first position globally in violating the right to life. Executions by the government in Iran, which human rights activists emphasize are aimed at creating fear and terror in society, also include groups such as child offenders and individuals with mental disabilities. Furthermore, see: At least 5 prisoners with mental disorders executed in 2024. The issuance and execution of death sentences by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran continue while protests against the death penalty and the 'No to Execution' campaign have intensified both inside and outside the country. Some observers say that the Islamic Republic's killing machine in Iranian prisons continues its work with greater intensity than before, aiming to instill fear and terror. A sociologist recently stated that 'about seven thousand people' are on death row in the prisons of the Islamic Republic in Iran.