Skip to main content

Iran Executions: Man Hanged in Public, 2 Hanged in Prisons

Public hanging in Marvdasht, Iran, on Sept. 13, 2018
Iran Human Rights (Sep 13, 2018): A man who was sentenced to death on the charge of harassing and murdering a 13-year-old teenager was hanged in public in Marvdasht.

According to the state-run news agency, Mizan, on the morning of Thursday, September 13, a prisoner was hanged in public in Marvdasht. 

The prisoner was arrested and sentenced to death on the charge of kidnapping, injuring, harassing, and murdering a 13-year-old teenager.

The report states, “The murderer kidnaps and takes the 13-year-old teenager to the mountains and harasses him mentally and physically for 15 days. Afterwards, he throws him down the mountain.”

It should be noted that public executions have repeatedly been criticized by the United Nations. Both the UN Secretary-General and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran have expressed concern about the continued practice of public executions in Iran.

Warning: Graphic Content!


Video of the execution (Source: Iran HRM)

Prisoner Hanged at Miandoab Prison


Iran Human Rights (Sep 10, 2018): Kamal Ahmadnejad, who was charged with “cooperating and being a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan” and “murdering Hashem Zeynali, a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ”, was executed at Miandoab Prison.

According to a close source, on the morning of Monday, September 10, a prisoner named Kamal Ahmadnejad was executed at Miandoab Prison. He was charged with “cooperating and being a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan” and “murdering Hashem Zeynali, a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps”. It is not clear if his execution was carried out for murder charges or rebellion.

A close source told IHR, “They tortured him for six months and forced a confession out of him.” He added, “Kamal wasn’t even allowed to meet his family for the last time.”

Ahmadnejad was arrested by the guards of the Ministry of Intelligence in Miandoab on December 24, 2014, and was sentenced to death through an unfair trial.

According to a report by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights of Kurdistan, Ahmadnejad was arrested along with five other people named Halmat Abdollahi, Milad Abdi, Saeed Siahi, Soleyman Kari, and Mostafa Tehzadeh. Ahmadnejad was sentenced to death and the five other defendants were each sentenced to 15 years on September 18, 2016.

The execution of this prisoner has not been announced by the state-run media so far.

It should be noted that on the morning of Saturday, September 8, three Kurdish political prisoners named “Ramin Hossein Panahi, Zanyar Moradi, and Loqman Moradi” were executed at Rajai Shahr Prison. 

Man Hanged at Saravan Prison


Iran Human Rights (Sep 13, 2018):  One prisoner was executed at Saravan Prison on murder charges.

According to a close source, on the morning of Wednesday, September 12, a prisoner who was sentenced to death on murder charges was executed at Saravan Prison. 

The prisoner was identified as Nazir Ahmad Gomshadzehi from Saravan.

Habibollah Sarbazi, Baluchi human rights activist, told IHR, “Nazir Ahmad was in prison for three years and five months. His funeral was held yesterday evening.”

According to a report by Baluch Activists Campaign, Nazir Ahmad Gomshadzehi was arrested in 2015.

The execution of this prisoner has not been announced by the state-run media so far.

According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the 517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges. There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and intent.

Iran Executions and the Cycle of Violence: Victim’s Brother Murdered in Retaliation for the Execution of the Murderer


Knife
Iran Human Rights (Sep 11, 2018): After the execution of one of his relatives, a 38-year-old man stabbed the victim’s brother to death in retaliation. Many social science experts believe that Qisas leads to an increase in violence in a society.

According to a report by Rokna news agency, Sarallah Hospital reported the murder of a 45-year-old man who was stabbed with a knife and a stick in April. The man, named Qasem, was attacked in front of his house and transferred to the hospital by his family.

The victim’s wife said to the police, “My husband left home to go to work early in the morning. A short while after he left, someone rang the doorbell.”

She continued, “I went out and saw my husband wounded severely. My son and neighbours came to help after they heard my screams. Then we took my husband to the hospital but he passed away. We had no idea who had done that. I suspect the family of the person who murdered my brother-in-law in a street fight ten years ago. The convict’s family tried so hard to gain the consent of the plaintiffs but then he was executed in November last year anyway. Later, the convict’s brother and his friends beat and injured my other brother-in-law. We filed a complaint against them and an arrest warrant was issued for the convict’s brother.”

She added, “They kept harassing us. Even their sister threatened me to death.”

Finally, a 38-year-old man who worked at a bakery told the police, “The convict was one of my relatives. I went to the plaintiffs along with his family several times in order to gain their consent but we failed and he was executed last year.”

He added, “We held a grudge against the victim’s family. When I saw how horrible the convict’s family felt, I decided to take action and punish the victim’s family myself.”

He continued, “I made a plan with my friend and took a stick and knife from his house. We waited outside the man’s house until he came out in his car. We attacked and injured him and then we escaped. The next day I heard that he was dead. We didn’t mean to kill him.”

Apart from discussions about whether the death penalty is right or wrong, it should be considered that according to the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, murder is punished by Qisas; that is, the family of the victim decides whether the defendant lives or dies which is nothing more than revenge. One of the reasons civil activists and human rights organizations are against Qisas is that it increases violence in a society. According to the law of Iran, the government devolves the responsibility of execution to the victims’ families. 

Source: Iran Human Rights, September 13-14, 2018


⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.


Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!



"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Most viewed (Last 7 days)

William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an exe­cu­tion war­rant for 74-year-old pris­on­er William ​“Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hos­pi­tal to the hos­pice wing of the prison. After his attor­neys raised seri­ous con­cerns about his men­tal com­pe­ten­cy and dete­ri­o­rat­ing phys­i­cal health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to tem­porar­i­ly stay the exe­cu­tion so Mr. Thompson’s com­pe­ten­cy can be eval­u­at­ed on October 1. If he is found com­pe­tent, his exe­cu­tion remains sched­uled for October 13.

Texas executes Ker’Sean Ramey

Texas executes man for a triple killing, days after other man convicted in case was put to death  A man was executed Wednesday evening in Texas for a triple killing committed during an attempted robbery at a rural home, 1 week after the other man convicted in the case was put to death.  Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the 6th person executed this year in Texas, with 3 more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next 2 months. 

Texas House chairman wants child rapists eligible for death penalty

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Under current Supreme Court precedent, states cannot execute someone for raping a child if the victim survives. That’s not stopping State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-McKinney. “We’re going to have a debate in this building behind me about the death penalty being on the table for any Texan who rapes a child,” Leach, the chair of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, said. Leach made the comments while hosting a news conference supporting his client, abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire.

Israel | Ben Gvir discusses death penalty for Neveh Tzuf terrorist hours before Yom Kippur

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the Neveh Tzuf terrorist during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two hours before the start of Yom Kippur on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the terrorist responsible for the attack in Neveh Tzuf during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had reportedly convened the meeting in response to the security situation in the West Bank following the Sunday terror attack.

Texas set to execute second man convicted in 2005 South Texas triple murder

Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey is scheduled to die Wednesday, one week after the state executed his co-defendant for the same killings. Texas is scheduled to execute a man on Wednesday for the 2005 shooting deaths of three people during a botched robbery in a small South Texas town, just one week after the state put his co-defendant to death for the same crime. Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey, 41, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

Tennessee Supreme Court denies stay for death row inmate Christa Pike

(TNND) — As Tennessee prepares for a Sept. 30 execution, the Tennessee Supreme Court has denied death row inmate Christa Gail Pike’s request to stop it. The court rejected Pike’s challenge to the state’s lethal-injection protocol, finding that her thrombocytosis diagnosis, a condition involving elevated blood platelets, did not show the execution would violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Florida | Tomasz Kosowski found guilty of murder after representing himself in death penalty case

Tomasz Kosowski sat each day alone at the defense table, wearing orange jail garb and rubber sandals with socks. In a rare and largely unprecedented move for a death penalty case, Kosowski represented himself, waiving his right to a jury trial and allowing a judge in Pinellas County, Florida, to decide his fate. Prosecutors presented the state’s case over six days, laying out for the judge how the former plastic surgeon accosted Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of his law office on a Tuesday morning, and Cozzi was never seen again.

Philippines | President Marcos Grants Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso

President Marcos Confirms Decision to Grant Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso  President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso after more than a decade.  On Friday (September 25, 2026), the President confirmed the decision during a visit to Guiuan, Eastern Samar.  According to him, the pardon was officially signed the previous day, marking a major development in the case.  

Tennessee | Christa Pike Requests Clemency Ahead of September 30 Execution Date; Experts’ Amicus Brief Points to ​‘Substantial Risk’ of Re-traumatization

Lawyers for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, filed a 226-page clemen­cy peti­tion with Governor Bill Lee, ask­ing him to com­mute her death sen­tence to life in prison with­out the pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole ahead of her September 30 exe­cu­tion date. Ms. Pike’s clemen­cy peti­tion out­lines the case her team has built over decades of appeals: her actions at 18 years old can­not be sep­a­rat­ed from a child­hood marked by repeat­ed rape, sex­u­al abuse, and neglect that went unad­dressed by the adults and state sys­tems meant to pro­tect her. Once incar­cer­at­ed, Ms. Pike was diag­nosed with bipo­lar dis­or­der and post-trau­mat­ic stress disorder.

Singapore | Ministry of Home Affairs refutes claims that death penalty was discussed during visit by Israel's security ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs says discussions with the Israeli government involved the sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention, and forensics. Issues relating to the death penalty “were never part of the meeting and were not discussed."  SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May. The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.