Reports from News Sources on the Execution of at Least 22 Prisoners in Iran

News and human rights sources reported on Thursday, January 3, that the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic executed at least 22 prisoners in various cities across Iran in recent days. According to the report by HRANA, a collection of human rights activists in Iran, the judiciary executed three prisoners on Tuesday, January 2, in connection with drug-related charges and murder at the Chubin prison in Qazvin. This human rights organization identified one of the executed as Amir Mohammadi and stated that the identities of two others are still 'under investigation.' According to HRANA, on the first day of the new Gregorian year, 'at least 15 prisoners in various prisons in Iran,' including in Malayer, Bandar Abbas, Yasuj, and Qazvin, were executed by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic. The report indicated that '10 prisoners in Qazvin prison,' one in Malayer, three in Bandar Abbas, and one in Yasuj were executed. This human rights organization identified two of the 10 executed prisoners in Karaj as 'Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi Far and an Afghan national named Pasha,' stating that the executions of these two prisoners were related to drug charges. According to the report, eight other prisoners were executed in connection with murder charges. The state-run news agency Rokna reported on Thursday morning the identities of three of the executed prisoners charged with murder in Qazvin prison as 'Arshia, born in the 80s,' 'Amir, an Afghan national,' and 'a prisoner who had murdered his brother-in-law due to inheritance disputes.' Additionally, the Iran Human Rights Organization announced on Thursday that the judiciary executed at least five prisoners, including three Afghan nationals, at dawn on Wednesday, January 3, in the central prison of Bandar Abbas. The identities of several of the executed prisoners in this report were identified as 'Ramzi Bigsavar, a 25-year-old Afghan national, Hedayat Qasemi, and Shahrokh Sabahi Pour,' with their death sentences issued in connection with drug-related charges. The details of two other executed prisoners, who were Afghan nationals and sentenced to death in a joint drug-related case, remain unclear. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, the judiciary executed a prisoner named Pejman Masoudi Kooshk, 25, on charges of 'premeditated murder' at dawn on Wednesday in the central prison of Yasuj. An informed source told this human rights organization that Pejman Masoudi had been detained for four years and was transferred to solitary confinement for execution on Monday, January 1, along with another prisoner named Abolfazl Hasani, but Mr. Hasani was returned to the ward after obtaining a 45-day extension from his plaintiffs. According to the Iran Human Rights Organization, judicial authorities executed two prisoners named Ismail Mirzaei and Fattah Mahmoudi in connection with drug-related charges in the central prison of Rasht (Lakan). The execution of these two prisoners was carried out at dawn on the first day of January but had not been reported by official and human rights sources until now. This human rights organization also announced that a citizen identified as Mohammad Shafi Mousavi, 52, was executed on charges of 'premeditated murder' in Malayer prison by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic. The execution of this citizen took place on December 1, but the news had not been published by official and human rights sources until now. The issuance and execution of death sentences under the title of 'Qisas Nafs' in the Islamic Republic of Iran occur under conditions where, according to government laws, premeditated murder is not graded, and 'any type of murder, regardless of the severity and motivation of the accused, leads to the issuance of a death sentence.' Previously, political prisoners who are members of the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' campaign have repeatedly stated that the issuance and execution of death sentences by the Islamic Republic in Iran are intended to 'create terror and fear.' Additionally, previously, May Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, criticized the human rights situation and the increasing number of executions in the prisons of the Islamic Republic, calling for a reduction in the issuance of death sentences in Iran. Executions of prisoners in connection with drug offenses have continuously increased over the past four years by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic, such that, according to the Iran Human Rights Organization, the number of executions last year reached '471 executions,' an 84% increase compared to the previous year. Despite the fact that the judiciary of the Islamic Republic does not officially announce executions in many cases, according to documentation collected by independent human rights organizations, the number of executions in Iran indicates that the government holds the first position globally in violating the right to life.