Human Rights Organization: Several Prisoners Transferred to Solitary Confinement for Execution; Execution of 3 Prisoners in Kerman

Human rights organizations reported on Wednesday, May 8, concerning the execution of three prisoners in Kerman. This comes after news on Tuesday about the transfer of seven prisoners to solitary confinement for execution. According to Harana, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, on Wednesday, May 8, 1403, three prisoners, including two men and one woman, were executed in Kerman prison related to drug charges. The human rights organization 'Iran Human Rights Monitoring' reported on Tuesday, May 7, that these seven prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement in Urmia, Qazalhessar, and Kerman prisons on the same day for execution. The report mentioned the presence of one woman among these individuals. According to this report, four individuals transferred to solitary confinement in Urmia had previously been sentenced to death for drug-related charges. Two individuals transferred from Qazalhessar were sentenced to death for drug charges and murder. The woman transferred to solitary confinement was also sentenced to death for drug-related charges. The increase in executions in Iran by the Islamic Republic has drawn criticism from many activists and human rights organizations worldwide. The Hengaw human rights organization recently reported a more than 300% increase in executions in Iran last month compared to the previous month. According to this report, at least 77 prisoners, including three women and one Kurdish religious prisoner, were executed in April in the prisons of the Islamic Republic. This figure shows a 328% increase compared to the execution of 18 prisoners in March. Steve Cohen and Tom McClintock, Republican lawmakers and co-chairs of the Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, condemned the increase in executions in Iran as a 'direct order from Ali Khamenei' in a statement released on Monday, May 6. According to them, the alarming escalation of state violence by the Islamic Republic indicates the Iranian government's blatant disregard for the right to life and international human rights norms. These two Republican lawmakers stated that the Iranian government's aim in executing 'at least 37 people in the last 10 days' is to instill fear among the Iranian people and suppress any dissent. They specifically referred to the executions carried out in Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, Gonbad Kavous, Tabriz, and Arak, deeming this pattern of the Islamic Republic not only condemnable but indicative of the systematic efforts of this government to suppress any form of dissent or criticism.