Iran | Baluch Political Prisoner Executed in Zahedan

Iran Human Rights (IHR); January 30, 2021: Javid Dehghan-Khold, a Baluch prisoner sentenced to death on political and security charges, has been executed in Zahedan Central Prison.

Iran Human Rights condemns Javid Dehghan-Khold’s execution in the strongest terms and calls upon the international community and Iranian civil society for a strong response to the continuing wave of Baluch executions.

The execution was carried out despite calls by the UN Human Rights Office and rights groups.

IHR Director, Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam said: “Javid Dehghan-Khold was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court without due process and based on confessions extracted under severe torture. His execution is a crime and Iran’s authorities including Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei and Head of the Judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi must be held accountable.”

According to Iran Human Rights, 31 year-old Javid Dehghan-Khold’s death sentence was carried out in the early hour of this morning, Saturday, January 30, at Zahedan Central Prison. He had been sentenced to death on political and security charges. He was charged with “moharebeh (enmity against god) through pulling a weapon and attacking IRGC agents and membership and effective collaboration with anti-system groups (Jaish ul-Adl and Jaysh al-Nasr).”

This is while informed sources told IHR that Javid Dehghan-Khold was unarmed at the time of his arrest and the charges against him were based on his confessions which were extracted under torture.

Informed sources previously told IHR: “Javid Dehghan-Khold was arrested in 2016 and spent around two months in solitary confinement. During those two months, he was tortured to make self-incriminating confessions by the intelligence services of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps). At his trial, he told the judge that the confessions had been obtained under torture. But the Judge would not accept. After that, Javid Dehghan-Khold was taken to solitary for prolonged periods of interrogations. He has not had access to a lawyer or legal counsel during the entire process.”

Yesterday, Javid Dehghan-Khold’s family said their goodbyes in their last visit with him at Zahedan Central Prison.

On 18 December 2020, Javid Dehghan-Khold was transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution along with several other prisoners, but was returned to his cell after a delay in his execution.

At the time of writing, Javid Dehghan-Khold’s execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

IHR previously warned of the escalation in the execution and crackdown on Kurdish and Baluch minorities and called on the international community and human rights organisations for a stronger response.

According to the IHR Statistics Department, at least 21 Baluch prisoners have been executed in Mashhad, Zahedan and Isfahan Central Prisons in the past five weeks (since 19 December 2020), with five being executed on political and security charges.

Source: iranhr.net, Staff, January 30, 2021

🚩 | 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

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.

Florida | DeSantis sets execution of man who killed Indian River deputy, temporarily pauses another execution

William Reaves is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Oct. 20th. It's the 18th death warrant Gov. DeSantis has signed this year. Reaves shot Deputy Sheriff Richard Raczkowski in September 23, 1986. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his 18th death warrant of the year Friday. William Reaves, convicted of the 1986 killing of an Indian River County Sheriff's deputy, is set to be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke on Oct. 20.

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.

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.

Taylor Parker becomes 7th woman on death row in Texas

Taylor Parker is set to become the 7th woman on death row in Texas, following her sentencing Wednesday in Bowie County for the capital murder of Reagan Hancock and the kidnapping her unborn baby, Braxlynn Sage. The baby did not survive. The last woman to be handed a death sentence in the state was Kimberly Cargill in June 2012 for the slaying of her developmentally disabled babysitter in Smith County, who was set to testify against her in a custody battle. None of the women currently on death row in Texas are scheduled for execution. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 6 women have been executed in Texas since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, more than any other state, according to Death Penalty Information Center. The last woman to be executed in the U.S. was Lisa Montgomery in January 2021. It was the first execution of a female inmate carried out by the federal government since 1953, and her case is chillingly reminiscent of Parker’s. She wa...

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.

Alabama executes Jeffery Lee

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WBMA) — Alabama has executed Jeffery Lee, nearly three decades after he was convicted in the 1998 killings of two people during a pawnshop robbery in rural Dallas County. Lee, 49, was put to death by lethal injection Thursday evening at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. His execution came three months after a federal judge blocked Alabama's plans to execute him using nitrogen gas. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Central Time, according to the office of Governor Kay Ivey.

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.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog