The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic Executes Two Prisoners in Mahabad

Judicial officials of the Islamic Republic executed two prisoners accused of murder in separate cases at Mahabad prison. According to reports from human rights sources on Thursday, December 20, the Islamic Republic's judiciary carried out the death sentences of two prisoners who had previously been sentenced to death for 'murder' in two separate cases on Wednesday morning in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran. According to the Kurdpa website, the executed individuals were Rahim Barin, accused of killing a government official in 2005, and Jamal Naboure, involved in a murder case from two years ago, in 2022. The issuance and execution of the death penalty under the title of 'Qisas-e Nafs' (retribution in kind) occurs in the Islamic Republic of Iran under conditions where, according to government laws, intentional murder is not graded, and 'any type of murder, regardless of the severity and motivation of the accused, leads to a death sentence.' Political prisoners who are members of the 'No to Executions on Tuesdays' campaign have repeatedly emphasized that the issuance and execution of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic is intended to instill fear in Iranian society. Additionally, it is noted that the execution of prisoners related to drug offenses has steadily increased over the past four years by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, with reports from the Iran Human Rights Organization indicating that the number of executions last year reached '471 executions,' an 84% increase compared to the previous year. Previously, Maya Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, criticized the human rights situation and the increasing number of executions in Iranian prisons, calling for a reduction in the issuance of death sentences in Iran.