Middle East
Publisher: Iran Human Rights
31 Dec 2014
Secret Mass-Executions of Drug-Convicts in Kerman Prison
Tens of prisoners have been executed in the past few months in the prison of Kerman (Southeastern Iran) and their executions have not been announced by the official media. Most of the prisoners have been convicted of drug-related charges. It is not known how long these executions have been going on but it is certain that the executions are not limited only to the past few months.
Publisher: euractiv
21 Dec 2014
Iran at its worst under the ‘moderate’ Rouhani
Today the Iranian people are facing one of the worst violations of human rights in contemporary times. Over 1200 executions in the past 15 months of Rouhani's presidency, Government organized acid attacks against women for "mal-veiling" and the brutal hanging of 26-year-old girl Reyhaneh Jabbari, are terrible events that have shocked the world.
Publisher: IranPressNews
17 Dec 2014
Iran’s Execution Surge; silence should not be an option
On 18 November, the United Nations General Assembly passed its annual resolution raising concern for human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the country s surge in executions. Today Iran is the world s leading executioner per capita. Its death penalty practice particularly callous and lawless often marked by execution of juvenile offenders, public hangings, and gross due process violations.
Publisher: Iran Human Rights
4 Dec 2014
18 Executions for Drug-Related Charges in One Day in Iran
Publisher: Iran Human Rights
14 Nov 2014
Is UN Engagement Having an Impact on Iran’s Human Rights? Absolutely.
In an interview broadcast last Friday, a Euronews reporter asked Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the Iranian judiciary s Human Rights Council, if he was proud that Iran leads the world in executions per capita. In response, Larijani said: Not at all, we are very much unhappy and uneasy about that and we are trying hard to change the laws which are bringing that situation about. As you know and I [have] said several times [...] more than almost 80% of these executions [are] stemming from narcotic drug related crimes. I think if we change the law [on narcotics], 80% of our executions will be dropped.
Publisher: Free Beacon
27 Oct 2014
Iran Amputating Limbs, Burning Political Opponents
Iran executed a record-shattering 411 citizens in the first half of 2014 and a total of 852 people in the last 15 months, including at least eight juveniles, according to a new United Nations report that will be introduced to the organization's General Assembly Tuesday. In addition to a surge in state-sanctioned killings that a U.N. official referred to as "shocking," Iran continues to torture imprisoned individuals using techniques such as amputation, electroshock, flogging, and burnings, according to the report, which details human rights in the Islamic Republic.
Publisher: Al Jazeera
25 Oct 2014
Iran hangs woman despite international uproar
Iran has executed a 26-year-old woman convicted for killing a man whom she said tried to sexually abuse her. Reyhaneh Jabbari was arrested in 2007 for the murder of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former employee of Iran s Ministry of Intelligence. She was hanged at dawn on Saturday, the official IRNA news agency quoted the Tehran prosecutor's office as saying
Publisher: Gatestone Institute
3 Oct 2014
Iran’s Political Prisoner Cleansing
Iran continues to hide behind the world's focus on ISIS to accelerate political arrests, executions, "prison cleansing" and above all, its program to achieve nuclear capability. Iran seems to be counting on the reluctance of the United States to intervene in any serious way, in order to run its nuclear weapons program to completion.
Publisher: Amnesty
30 Sep 2014
Life of Prisoner of Conscious Mr Boroujerdi at Risk
Days before Iran's President Hassan Rohani addresses United Nations General Assembly, Ayatollah Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, the prominent dissident clergy was informed that he will be executed for "anti-government views" -- that is if Iran, by again withholding repeatedly-requested medical attention, does not passively execute him first. According to reliable sources inside Iran, "Ayatollah Boroujerdi's health condition is worse than ever, and prison docors have said that if the prisoner does not receive immediate medical attention, he will die within days or even hours...." The authorities have been refusing medical intervention.
Publisher: The Guardian
29 Sep 2014
Iran executes man for heresy
A 37-year-old man has been executed in Iran after being found guilty of heresy and insulting prophet Jonah, according to human rights activists. Mohsen Amir-Aslani was arrested nine years ago for his activities which the authorities deemed were heretical. He was engaged in psychotherapy but also led sessions reading and reciting the Qur an and providing his own interpretations of the Islamic holy book, his family said. Amir-Aslani was hanged last week for making "innovations in the religion" and "spreading corruption on earth", but human rights activists said he was a prisoner of conscience who was put to death because of his religious beliefs. He had interpreted Jonah s story in the Qur an as a symbolic tale.
Publisher: gatestone institute
25 Sep 2014
Iran Executing Iran’s Mandela, Dissident Hero Ayatollah Boroujerdi
Now that the world's headlines are dominated by ISIS, and while Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is at the UN, the Iran is using these distractions to step up its executions, its mass-arrests of minorities, and now its execution of Ayatollah Boroujerdi -- that is if Iran, by again withholding crucial medical attention, does not passively execute him first.
Publisher: Iran Liberty
20 Sep 2014
17 prisoners executed in one day, 5 in public
On Thursday, September 17, 2014, at least 17 prisoners were hanged in cities across Iran, including five in public. The executions were carried out in cities of Shiraz, Marvdasht, Kerman and Bandar Abbas. A group of four prisoners were hanged in public in Shiraz while another group of eight sent to gallows in Shabab Prison in city of Kerman. The Thursday s executions followed reports of more executions that had been carried out in other cities in Iran. A group of seven young men, mostly in their 20s, were executed on September 10 in cities of Karaj and Hamadan.
Publisher: Iran Human Rights
17 Sep 2014
As Rouhani Comes to NY, Domestic Repression in Iran Remains Unabated
Ahead of President Rouhani s visit to New York next week, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran released a video today, bringing into sharp focus the disconnect between Rouhani s rhetoric on domestic affairs and the reality on the ground. The record of the past year speaks for itself. The number of executions continues to distinguish Iran as the highest state executioner in the world on a per capita basis. Freedom of expression, assembly, and association remain highly restricted. Iran remains the second largest prison for journalists in the world. Gender policies aiming to exclude women from public life, particularly in higher education and employment, have increased. Hundreds of political prisoners remain behind bars, many imprisoned following the disputed 2009 election. The Campaign urges diplomats, the international media, and experts who will meet Rouhani during his visit to express their serious concerns regarding Iran s continued abysmal human rights record.
Publisher: HRANA
10 Sep 2014
50% increase in the executions during recent 2 weeks
The Statistics and Publication Unit of human rights Activists in Iran has publicized a Comparative report on the executions in Iran in the first half of Shahrivar ( 23rd August- 6th September) this year, against the statistics of executions in the previous month and also same time last year. Finally, they have announced a fifty percent of growth in the executions.
Publisher: HRANA
22 Aug 2014
A number of prisoners killed and wounded in a revolt in Qezel Hesar
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on 17th August, after a group of prisoners who were sentenced to death were transferred for execution, prisoners from unit 1 and unit 2 wards 2 and 3 of Qezel Hesar prison revolt and fought with prison guards and security forces. Security unit in the prison used firearms to control violence and prisoners protest, which led to the killing and wounding a number of prisoners.
Publisher: Persian2English
6 Aug 2014
Iranian Authorities Execute 8 Prisoners in Public in Less than a Week
Publisher: Iran Human Rights
28 Jun 2014
Mass execution of 11 prisoners in Ghezelhesar Prison of Iran
Publisher: International Campaign for Human Rights
17 Jun 2014
Two Iranian-Arabs Executed in Secret
Publisher: Eurasia Review
14 Jun 2014
Call For Iran To Halt Execution Of 33 Sunnis
The Iranian authorities should quash the death sentences of 33 Sunni Muslim men, including possibly a juvenile offender, convicted of enmity against God (moharebeh), and impose an immediate moratorium on all executions, 18 human rights organizations and one prominent human rights lawyer said today. The call comes amid serious concerns about the fairness of the legal proceedings that led to the men s convictions and the high number of executions reported in Iran during the last year, including the June 1, 2014 hanging of a political dissident, Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani, on the same charge.
Publisher: Persian2English
12 Jun 2014
Execution of Gholamreza Khosravi means Iran’s authorities are still ready to execute prisoners of conscience
The execution of Gholamreza Khosravi showed that the Judicial and Intelligence Ministry authorities in Iran are still ready to execute prisoners of conscience. There is currently great concern for [approximately] 33 Sunni prisoners of conscience held in Rajai Shahr, Ghezel Hesar and Sanandaj prisons. Particularly, in the wake of ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) s recent seizure of an Iraqi city, and the fear of support from the Sunni population for ISIS, the security organizations in Iran may use the execution of these inmates to instigate fear in Sunni-populated areas.
Publisher: Persian2English
11 Jun 2014
Execution and Extortion
Iranian authorities have reportedly asked for money in exchange for the bodies of two executed prisoners. In May 2014 two brothers, Abdol Jamal Zehi, 26, and Hamid Jamal Zehi, 22, were reportedly hanged to death in Chabahar Prison in southern Iran on drug trafficking charges. Iranian authorities reportedly refused to hand over the bodies of these two young men until their family paid 11 million Tomans (approximately $4,000).
Publisher: International Campaign for Human Rights
2 Jun 2014
Political Prisoner Executed Despite Lack of Due Process
Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani had been sentenced to death following his arrest in 2008 on charges in connection with his alleged support for the Mojahedin-e Khalgh Organization (MEK). Khosravi s sister told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the family, who visited him the night before the execution, was unaware that his death sentence was to be imminently carried out.
Publisher: Persian2English
1 Jun 2014
Urgent Action: Iran’s Authorities Plan to Execute an Innocent Man on Death Row
They somehow converted a six-year prison sentence to a death sentence. What has he done to deserve this? Which of the authorities in Iran helped us through this injustice? None of them. We ve even gone to the Supreme Leader's [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] office. None of them have paid any attention to us. Authorities are playing games with us. They want to inflict psychological pressures on us. They want to create an atmosphere of chaos.
Publisher: NY Daily News
25 May 2014
Billionaire involved in $2.6 billion bank scam executed in Iran
Publisher: Hrana
5 May 2014
Three more Sunni preachers to be hanged in Iran
Three Sunni prisoners of conscience have been sentenced to death in Iran after being convicted of enmity against God through spreading propaganda against the regime . According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the men, Mohammad Kayvan Karimi, Amjad Salehi and Omid Payvand, who were active in preaching Sunni Islam, were informed of their death sentences through the lawyer assigned to their case.
Publisher: Claim your Innocence World
23 Apr 2014
Juvenile Offender Executed in Northern Iran- Four Juvenile Executions in Four Days
A juvenile offender was hanged in the Vakilabad prison of Mashhad (Northeastern Iran) on Sunday. He was convicted of a murder committed when he was 16 year old. On Thursday three juvenile offenders were hanged in the Bandar Abbas prison (Southern Iran). Iran Human Rights (IHR) urges the international community to react to the juvenile executions in Iran.
Publisher: majzooban
14 Apr 2014
Iranian woman at risk of execution, Reyhaneh Jabbari
The death sentence of Iranian woman Reyhaneh Jabbari has been sent to the Office of Implementation of Sentences in Tehran, Iran. Once death sentences have gone to this body, they may be carried out at any time. Reyhaneh Jabbari , aged 26, was arrested in 2007 for the murder of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former employee of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence. Reyhaneh Jabbari confessed to the murder immediately after her arrest, though she did not have a lawyer present at the time she made her confession. She stated that the murder took place in self-defence.
Publisher: Reuters
5 Apr 2014
Spike in Iran executions seen politically motivated
Since president Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate in Iran, took office last August, there has been a surge in executions: at least 537 people have been executed in the past eight months, nearly 200 of them since the beginning of this year, according to figures compiled by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. That compares with a total for 2013 of 624, according to data gathered by the United Nations. Some human rights activists and others fear that those who oppose Rouhani and his negotiations with Western powers over the country s nuclear programme are pushing the executions to weaken him.
Publisher: The Guardian
28 Mar 2014
Death penalty statistics, country by country
Publisher: Iran Human Rights
20 Feb 2014
12 prisoner executed in Iran today- Two hanged in public
Publisher: Al Jazeera
11 Feb 2014
Iranian poet executed for ‘waging war on God’
An Arab-Iranian poet and human rights activist, Hashem Shaabani, has been executed for being an "enemy of God" and threatening national security, according to local human rights groups. Shaabani and a man named Hadi Rashedi were hanged in unidentified prison on January 27, rights groups have said. Shaabani, who spoke out against the treatment of ethnic Arabs in the province of Khuzestan, had been in prison since February or March 2011 after being arrested for being a Mohareb, or "enemy of God".
Publisher: Asharq Al Awsat
9 Feb 2014
Executing Iran’s Political Compromise
Over the years, Iran has maintained a consistent response to persistent criticisms of its human rights record. If a report condemning Iran's woeful human rights record is issued by an NGO, such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International, a statement is issued accusing the group of "toadying to the US and Israel." Their evidence is discredited as unsubstantiated and biased, as having been collected from "anti-Iranian outlets and terrorist groups." If the criticism comes from a foreign government then Iran has developed a strategy of drawing attention to double standards.
Publisher: Persian2English
9 Feb 2014
Local Sources in Baluchestan: Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence Buried 7 Bodies in Secret
The Ministry of Intelligence has reportedly secretly buried seven bodies in Zahedan (Sistan and Baluchestan Province's capital). Local sources have told "The Baloch Activists Campaign" that on the morning of Tuesday, February 4th, 2014, Ministry of Intelligence agents buried the bodies of individuals whose identities are unknown.
Publisher: YouTube
1 Feb 2014
Bahram Ahmadi – a young Sunni preacher executed in Iran
Numerous Sunni scholars, preachers and activists have been imprisoned and executed in the Shia-led Iran, often following unfair trials using evidence obtained through torture. The Iranian regime commonly falsely accuses Sunni preachers of membership in a Salafi group or enmity against God , in an attempt to justify their imprisonment and execution.
Publisher: TIME
17 Jan 2014
Rights Group Says Iran Executed 40 People Since Start of 2014
Iran has carried out 40 executions since the start of 2014, according to Amnesty International, with at least 33 taking place in the last week. The human-rights organization released a statement Thursday detailing 21 executions acknowledged by Iranian officials, and another 19 that were reported through reliable sources.- Public hangings in Iran are typically a show of force: a crane is used to lift the person by a noose tied around their neck in front of a crowd.
Publisher: Hrana
3 Jan 2014
Lack of any information about the situation of two prisoners
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Hashem Shabani, Hadi Rashidi, two cultural activists in the city of Ramshir / Khouzestan, whose death sentences were upheld by Branch 32 of the Supreme Court, transferred to an unknown place by the intelligence office of Ahwaz. Their families and lawyers have not been informed about this transfer and their situations since then.