Islamic Republic Executes Six Individuals in Various Prisons Across Iran

Judicial officials of the Islamic Republic executed at least six prisoners in various prisons across the provinces of Fars, Isfahan, South Khorasan, and Kermanshah. According to reports from human rights sources on Tuesday, December 25, these executions were related to charges attributed to the prisoners concerning 'drug offenses and murder.' Human rights organizations have repeatedly questioned the due process in the courts of the Islamic Republic, emphasizing that detainees are deprived of the right to defense and fair trial. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic executed two brothers named Ali Maniyan, 27, and Jassem Maniyan, 31, at the central prison (Dashtgerd) in Isfahan on the morning of Tuesday, December 25. An informed source told this human rights organization that the death sentence issued for these two brothers was related to 'the murder of one of their friends' two years ago. This human rights organization also reported that an unidentified prisoner was executed in connection with a case involving 'the murder of two environmentalists' in Khordad 1401 in one of the prisons in Fars province. Additionally, the HRANA news agency reported that judicial officials executed a prisoner named Hamid Moradian from Firuzabad in Lorestan province concerning the charge of 'premeditated murder' at the central prison (Dieselabad) in Kermanshah. The issuance and execution of the death penalty under the title of 'Qisas Nafs' in the Islamic Republic of Iran occurs under conditions where, according to governmental laws, premeditated murder is not classified, and 'any type of murder, regardless of the severity and motivation of the accused, leads to the issuance of a death sentence.' Furthermore, the Iranian human rights activists reported that a prisoner named Amin Farahmand was executed by judicial officials in Adelabad prison in Shiraz for drug-related offenses. In addition, the Halvash website reported that on the morning of Tuesday, December 25, a prisoner named Davood Qalajayi, 28, who had been arrested in 1398 for drug-related offenses, was executed by the judicial authorities in Birjand 'without having a last visit with his family.' Executions related to drug offenses have continuously increased over the past four years by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic, as reported by the Iran Human Rights Organization, indicating that the number of executions last year reached '471 executions,' an 84% increase compared to the previous year. Although the judiciary of the Islamic Republic does not officially announce executions in many cases, according to documentation gathered by independent human rights organizations, the number of executions in Iran indicates the highest global rank for violations of the right to life by the government. Additionally, see: Increase in executions worldwide; the Iranian government tops the list. Previously, Maya Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, criticized the human rights situation and the increase in the number of executions in the prisons of the Islamic Republic, calling for a reduction in the issuance of death sentences in Iran.