Islamic Republic Executes Two Prisoners on Charges of 'Insulting the Prophet'

Official news agencies in Iran reported that judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic executed two prisoners early Monday morning who were operators of several Telegram channels, on charges of 'insulting the Prophet' and 'apostasy.' Youssef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli-Zare are the two executed prisoners. Youssef Mehrad was the father of three young children, and Sadrollah Fazeli-Zare was the caretaker of his elderly mother. In response to these executions, a human rights organization described the act as a 'display of the medieval nature of the Islamic Republic.' Following the execution of these two individuals in Iran on charges of 'insulting the Prophet,' the Iran Human Rights Organization condemned the executions, emphasizing the 'inhuman' nature of the death penalty, and called on the international community to respond seriously, urgently, and effectively to this crime. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, director of the Iran Human Rights Organization, stated: 'The officials of the Islamic Republic have once again displayed their medieval nature by executing two individuals for expressing and declaring their opinions.' The Twitter account of the legal advice and training center for activists 'Dadban' quoted an informed source stating that Youssef Mehrad's family 'had no information about the execution of his sentence, and Youssef was in the general ward until yesterday evening,' and judicial authorities had promised the family on Sunday, May 7, that the execution would be completely halted and that a pardon from the Supreme Leader would be applied to Youssef Mehrad's case. Last Monday, several websites, including Hengaw, Hrana, and the Free Workers Union, which cover human rights news, reported the transfer of Youssef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli-Zare to solitary confinement in Arak prison and expressed concern about the execution of their previously issued death sentences. The Hrana website, affiliated with a group of human rights activists in Iran, had previously reported the arrest of seven individuals related to the management and membership of a Telegram channel titled 'Critique of Superstition and Religion.' While other defendants were released on bail, Youssef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli were sentenced to death. According to published reports, the death sentences for these two were confirmed by the Supreme Court in July 2021. These two ideological prisoners were tried and executed by the Islamic Republic's judiciary for alleged charges such as 'blasphemy,' 'apostasy,' and 'insulting the Prophet,' while the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights does not consider these 'offenses' as serious crimes. According to Article 262 of the Islamic Penal Code, 'Anyone who insults the Prophet of Islam or any of the great prophets is considered an insulter of the Prophet and is sentenced to death.' Previously, Mohammad Arman, Youssef Mehrad's lawyer, had told the 'Emtidad' website, affiliated with the reformist party 'Unity of the Nation,' that 'his client has a history of years of religious activity.' These executions come at a time when the implementation of death sentences in Iran has accelerated in recent days, raising concerns. On Saturday, May 6, the media center of the Iranian judiciary announced that the death sentence of Habib Farajollah Chab, known as 'Habib Asyoud,' was carried out. A review of published news regarding the execution of individuals for various charges shows that at least 50 people have been executed in Iran over the past 10 days. The Hrana news agency reported that these executions included the execution of two women in the prisons of Rajai Shahr in Karaj, Urmia, Qazalhesar in Karaj, Dastgerd in Isfahan, Vakilabad in Mashhad, Ardabil, Torbat Jam, Yazd, Rasht, Birjand, Qazvin, Nishapur, Minab, Bandar Abbas, Zahedan, Khorramabad, and Iranshahr. According to Hrana's report, drug-related offenses and murder accounted for the majority of executions. Yesterday, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported that 'six Arab political prisoners from Ahvaz, who have been sentenced to death on security charges, have been transferred to solitary confinement in Shiban prison in Ahvaz for execution of their sentences.' In Tehran, according to published reports, three political prisoners have been transferred to the fourth ward of Greater Tehran Prison, where violent crime prisoners are held, increasing concerns about their imminent execution. One person has been moved in Adelabad prison in Shiraz and three in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj for execution. Ghazaleh Sharmeh, daughter of Jamshid Sharmeh, a dual-national Iranian-German prisoner who was kidnapped and transferred to Iran, where he was sentenced to death, told Voice of America that there is no way to contact her father and that she can only follow the events through the news. Iranian authorities deter relatives of condemned prisoners from informing the public by giving them hope for the prisoners' continued life, and many of these prisoners are executed in silence. Shoaleh Pakrovan, the mother of Reyhaneh Jabbari, who was executed in 2014, told Voice of America that judicial officials had told her: 'If you remain silent, perhaps your daughter will not be executed.' 'Failure to uphold fair trial standards according to international standards' is one of the main criticisms from civil society, lawyers, and UN monitoring bodies regarding judicial processes, especially in political and ideological cases in the Islamic Republic.