Five Executed in Shiraz, Including Two Brothers

Human rights sources reported the execution of at least five prisoners, including two brothers, by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic at dawn on Wednesday, January 30, in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. Iran Human Rights Organization reported that agents of the Islamic Republic's judiciary executed five prisoners identified as "Hamid Fanayi, 42 years old, Amir Fanayi, 36 years old, Ali Heydari, 31 years old, Rasoul Minaei, 33 years old, and Khosrow Abbaszadeh, approximately 35 years old" in the central prison of Shiraz known as Adelabad. The execution of these five individuals was carried out based on a "Qisas" sentence related to the charge of "murder." According to this human rights organization, a knowledgeable source stated that "Amir Fanayi and Hamid Fanayi were two brothers from Marvdasht" who had been detained for five years on the charge of "murder." Additionally, the report indicated that Rasoul Minaei and Khosrow Abbaszadeh from Babol in Mazandaran province, who were "related to each other," had been detained for four years on the charge of "murder." The issuance and execution of death sentences under the title of "Qisas Nafs" in the Islamic Republic of Iran occurs 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 a death sentence." Despite the fact that the Islamic Republic's judiciary does not officially announce executions in many cases, evidence gathered by independent human rights organizations shows that the number of executions in Iran ranks first globally in terms of government violations of the right to life. Political prisoners and human rights activists have repeatedly emphasized that the Islamic Republic seeks to convey a message of terror and oppression to citizens through the issuance and execution of death sentences. The execution of these five prisoners in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz coincides with the first anniversary of the campaign against executions. Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam, the director of Iran Human Rights Organization, stated in an interview with VOA that the campaign known as "Black Tuesdays" is a turning point in the struggles of the Iranian people.