Iran | 2 Moharebeh inmates hanged in Urmia, 3 executed in Arak

Iran executes 2 prisoners charged with ‘enmity against God’ in Urmia

Prisoners Milad Jajouyi Khanik and Mohammad Ali Akhtari Kohlan were executed earlier this morning in Orumiyeh Central Prison, in north-western Iran.

The 2 prisoners were previously sentenced to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) due to an armed robbery that resulted in murder.

On 12 February, they were transferred to solitary confinement for execution.

In September 2018, the 2 prisoners were arrested along with another civilian, Milad Ghaffarzadeh Gharagheshlaghi.

The 3 civilians were accused of committing “armed robbery resulting in murder” in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province.

In April 2019, the Branch Two of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh sentenced them to death on the charge of “enmity against God” (moharebeh).

The Supreme Court later overturned Milad Ghaffarzadeh Qaragheshlaghi’s death sentence, commuting it to imprisonment, but upheld the death sentences of Milad Jajouyi Khanik and Mohammad Ali Akhtari Kohlan.

5 Inmates Executed in Arak and Urmia

On February 14, 3 inmates were executed in Arak Prison for drug-related crimes. Also, on the same day, 2 inmates convicted of murder were executed in Urmia Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on February 14, 3 unidentified death-row inmates convicted of drug-related crimes were executed in Arak Prison.

HRANA is working on identifying these prisoners and finding out details on their cases.

Also, Kurdpa reported the execution of 2 inmates, identified as Mohammad-Ali Akhtari Kohlan and Milad Jajooie Khanik, in Urmia prison. In October 2018, these individuals, reportedly, along with another person, were arrested for armed robbery of a jewellery store in Urmia. Subsequently, they were sentenced to death on the charge of enmity against God (Moharebeh).

In 2022, the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists in Iran registered 457 reports related to the death penalty. This included 92 death sentences, including the conviction of 6 people to public execution and 565 execution sentences were carried out, 2 of which have been carried out in public.

Based on the announced identifications of some of the executed individuals, 501 were male and 11 were female.

In addition, 5 juvenile offenders were executed in 2022, meaning they were under the age of 18 at the time they committed the crime.

Source: kurdistanhumanrights.org, en-hrana.org, Staff, February 14, 2023

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