https://news.az/news/iran-executes-five-prisoners-as-rights-groups-report-fresh-arrests Copied Photo: HRANA + ↺ − 16px
Iran has executed at least five prisoners convicted on murder and drug-related charges, while security forces have carried out a fresh wave of arrests across the country targeting activists and relatives of anti-government protesters, according to human rights groups.
The executions took place in prisons in Shiraz, Semnan and Kashan, while separate arrests were reported in Mashhad, Khorramabad, Kermanshah, Gorgan and Kurdistan Province, News.Az reports, citing the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
According to HRANA, Rahim Khanli and Morad Iran Manesh were executed at Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz on 12 July after being convicted on drug-related charges. Iranian authorities had not officially announced the executions at the time of publication.
In a separate case, Hossein Vahidpour, 24, and Farshad Pahlavani, 26, were executed at Semnan Prison on 16 June after being convicted of murdering a friend in a joint case.
According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, cited by HRANA, the two men were arrested nearly five years ago after allegedly killing a man named Alireza at a poultry farm where they worked. The report said they believed the victim had been harassing Vahidpour's sister but later realised they had been mistaken. The families of the two prisoners reportedly offered the victim's family 35 billion tomans in exchange for forgiveness, but the offer was rejected and the death sentences were carried out.
HRANA also reported that 32-year-old Esmail Ghadiri was executed at Kashan Prison on 8 July after being convicted of murder following a fatal altercation three years earlier.
None of the executions had been officially announced by Iranian authorities at the time the reports were published.
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Separately, rights groups reported several new arrests by Iran's security forces.
Kameen Korki, the brother of death-row political prisoner Ruhollah Korki, was arrested in Mashhad on 3 July and taken to an undisclosed location, according to HRANA. His whereabouts remain unknown.
The agency said no official reason had been given for his arrest, although his case has reportedly been referred to Branch 257 of the Investigative Office of the Mashhad Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office. Korki has had no contact with his family since his detention.
In Khorramabad, Javad Behdad was arrested at his home on 7 July by security forces, HRANA said. The agency reported that officers allegedly used violence during the arrest and did not present a judicial warrant. No charges have been disclosed.
HRANA, citing Kolbar News, also reported the arrest of Faroud Veisi and Farhad Ghafourizadeh in Kermanshah on 8 July.
The two men are relatives of Meysam and Mojtaba Veisi, who were killed by security forces during the 2026 nationwide protests. According to the report, they were detained while their family was preparing memorial and 40-day commemoration ceremonies for the two men. No charges have been announced.
In Gorgan, Fatemeh Jami was formally charged after being arrested by Iran's Cyber Police (FATA) on 30 June.
According to HRANA, prosecutors charged her with insulting the Supreme Leader and communicating with anti-government groups. A source familiar with the case said the charges stemmed from her activity on Instagram.
Separately, Arman Faraji, a farmer from Divandareh County in Kurdistan Province, was arrested while working in his fields on 4 July, according to the HANA Human Rights Organization.
The report said security agents did not present a warrant and cited only his social media activity as the reason for the arrest. His place of detention, the agency holding him and any formal charges remain unknown.
HANA also reported that 28-year-old Matin Faramarzi, a resident of Mahabad with a master's degree in philosophy, was arrested by plainclothes security agents at Sheikh Shaltot Park on 8 July.
According to the rights group, officers used physical force during the arrest before taking him to an undisclosed location in a private vehicle. No official information has been released regarding the reasons for his arrest, any charges against him, or his whereabouts.
HANA said Faramarzi had previously been arrested and summoned by security authorities during the "Jin, Jiyan, Azadi" ("Woman, Life, Freedom") protest movement and had faced earlier security and judicial proceedings.
Meanwhile, HRANA reported unrest in the women's ward of Tehran's Evin Prison after around 60 female inmates convicted of financial offences were transferred from Qarchak Prison in Varamin despite existing overcrowding.
According to the agency, prisoners protested deteriorating conditions before prison guards intervened and threatened inmates, including warning that prisoners sentenced to death would be separated from the others.
HRANA said inmate Mahsa (Masoumeh) Nouri was transferred to solitary confinement after taking part in the protest.
According to HRANA's 2025 annual report, at least 2,063 people were executed in Iran last year, including 61 women and two juvenile offenders, while another 172 people were sentenced to death.