The Execution Machine in Iran Continues to Claim Victims; Human Rights Sources Report Multiple Executions

Reports published by human rights organizations and Iranian media indicate that the "execution machine" in the Islamic Republic continues to claim victims. Following a wave of executions, today, Wednesday, November 15, the death sentences of two prisoners in Karaj were carried out, and six prisoners in Urmia were transferred to solitary confinement for execution. Meanwhile, the "Halvash" website also reported today the execution of "Zarkhatun Mazrahi," a Baloch female prisoner, early Wednesday morning in Kerman. The Kerman judiciary had previously accused her of drug trafficking, a claim that, according to Halvash, she never accepted. In recent days, news has also emerged of the execution of several Baloch prisoners in Zahedan and other cities. According to the news agency HRANA, the news organ of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, today, Wednesday, November 15, the death sentences of two prisoners related to drug-related crimes were executed in Qazalhasar prison in Karaj. HRANA identified one of these executed individuals as "Nazir Mohammad," a citizen of Afghanistan, and the other as "Bagher Mohammadi." The same source reported the transfer of six prisoners in Urmia to solitary confinement for "execution of the death sentence." According to published reports, three of these prisoners were sentenced to death for murder, and three others for drug-related charges. Meanwhile, Iranian media also reported the confirmation of another death sentence for a prisoner accused of killing a former member of the Assembly of Experts by the Supreme Court. This prisoner had shot and killed Abbasali Soleimani, a former representative of Mazandaran in the Assembly of Experts, in a bank in Babolsar on April 25 of this year. According to the annual report of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, from October 10, 2022, to October 8, 2023, at least 659 citizens, including 17 women and one child offender, were executed, marking an increase of about 24% compared to the same period last year. Among those executed, seven were executed in "public." Additionally, during the mentioned period, 164 individuals were sentenced to death, of which two were sentenced to "public execution." Given the increasing trend of executions in Iran by the Islamic Republic under various pretexts, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his latest report to the UN General Assembly on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, called for an immediate halt to executions and the immediate release of detainees, including women, girls, lawyers, journalists, and human rights defenders. The ongoing confrontation of the Islamic Republic with protesting citizens; from executions to the detention of the families of the plaintiffs. The funeral of three Baloch political prisoners who were executed on November 13 in Zahedan. The execution of three individuals in Zahedan without prior notice and the possibility of family visits. The execution of a Baloch woman in Kerman prison. Confirmation of the death sentence of Milad Zahraei in the Supreme Court; deprivation of a lawyer and hastening the court's ruling. Execution of three "security" prisoners in Zahedan; human rights sources: they made "forced confessions" under torture. The execution of Meysam Chandani, a Baloch political prisoner after 11 years.