Execution of Three Prisoners in Tabriz and Zanjan by Islamic Republic Judicial Authorities

Human rights sources reported on Tuesday, February 11, that the judiciary of the Islamic Republic executed at least three prisoners in the cities of Tabriz and Zanjan. According to a report from the Iran Human Rights Organization, the death sentences of two prisoners named Shahram Manafzadeh, 33, and Farhad Abdali, 29, who were convicted of 'rape' in a joint case in the courts of the Islamic Republic, were carried out in Tabriz Central Prison. The executions of these two prisoners took place early on Sunday, February 10. However, official sources and state media in Iran have not yet reported on their execution. This human rights organization also reported that on the early morning of Saturday, February 9, judicial authorities executed a prisoner identified as Ali Rezaei, 50, on drug-related charges in Zanjan Central Prison. Human rights sources have repeatedly emphasized that defendants in the courts of the Islamic Republic are often deprived of the right to have a lawyer and a fair and transparent trial. Executions related to drug offenses have consistently increased over the past four years by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic, with the Iran Human Rights Organization reporting that the number of executions last year reached '471 executions,' an 84% increase compared to the previous year. Despite the fact that the judiciary of the Islamic Republic does not officially announce executions in many cases, independent human rights organizations' documentation shows that the number of executions in Iran indicates the highest global ranking for the violation of the right to life by the government. Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam, director of the Iran Human Rights Organization, has previously stated in an interview that the Islamic Republic uses executions as a 'tool for repression and intimidation' of citizens with the aim of 'creating fear.'