Execution of Seven Prisoners by Judicial Authorities of the Islamic Republic in Iran

News and human rights sources reported on Thursday, October 5, that at least seven more prisoners were executed by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic in various prisons across Iran. According to the Halosh website, Emanullah Nahtani, a 41-year-old citizen from Zabol with five children, was executed on Thursday, October 5, in connection with drug-related crimes in Zahedan. Additionally, according to the Iranian Human Rights Organization on Thursday, October 5, the judiciary executed a citizen named Yaser Balandeh in Jiroft prison, another named Khodamrad Zandi in Boroujerd prison, and a prisoner named Kambakhsh Mahmoudi in Dizelabad prison in Kermanshah. Reports indicate that Khodamrad Zandi was executed on Tuesday, Yaser Balandeh on Wednesday, and Kambakhsh Mahmoudi on Thursday, with the charges against these three prisoners being 'murder.' Furthermore, human rights sources reported that another prisoner named Hossein Torkashvand was executed on Wednesday, October 4, in Khorramabad in connection with drug-related crimes. In addition, Rokna, an incident news agency in Iran, reported that in the early hours of Wednesday, two prisoners charged with 'murder' and 'rape' were executed in Qezel Hesar prison in Alborz province. The identities of these two prisoners were not disclosed in the report. Reports on Wednesday also indicated the execution of several other prisoners, including a citizen who was 16 years old at the time of arrest, by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. The statistics on executions in the Islamic Republic have consistently been among the highest in the world. The continuation of executions comes at a time when in recent days, Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the fourteenth government of the Islamic Republic, claimed that Iran is 'much safer and freer than the image portrayed by the media.' Meanwhile, the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign, initiated by a number of political prisoners in Qezel Hesar prison in Alborz province last February and continued with the participation of prisoners from at least 20 other prisons, draws public attention to the issuance and implementation of death sentences in Iran through group hunger strikes on Tuesdays. The prisoners involved in this campaign stated that 'the inhumane death sentences issued in violation of all human rights standards are solely aimed at creating an atmosphere of terror and preventing a new wave of nationwide protests and the people's exercise of their fundamental right to protest.' Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, described the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign as 'the result of not surrendering to pressure and repression' and also 'emphasizing unity and collective action.' According to the statistics from the Iranian Human Rights Organization, at least 71 'child offenders' have been executed in Iran since 2010. Maya Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, recently noted that at least 93 people were executed in Iran just last month, stating that only a portion of these executions were officially reported by the Islamic Republic. According to Maya Sato's report and several other UN experts, the number of executions by the Islamic Republic in August was more than double the 45 executions carried out in July, and so far this year, at least 400 Iranian citizens, including 15 women, have been executed by the Iranian government. Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, described the execution statistics in Iran and the judicial process leading to such sentences as 'a cause for concern.' He criticized the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, stating that this institution is 'not independent at all or conducive to fair trials.' Amnesty International reported that the Islamic Republic was responsible for 74% of recorded executions worldwide last year.