According to HRANA news agency, two Afghan men were executed in Qezel Hesar Prison on 10 May. The unidentified men were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Hossein Panjak, Abdolhossein Emami Moghaddam and Babak Aghayi were also executed at the prison that day. On death row for drug-related charges, their families gathered outside the prison in an attempt to save their lives. They were met with bullets and tear gas, with one person hospitalised.
According to the 2022 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 256 people were executed for drug-related offences in 2022, a more than two-fold increase compared to 2021 (126) and ten times more than 2020 (25).
Afghans constitute the largest group of non-Iranian execution and death row cases in Iranian prisons. In 2021, no execution of Afghan nationals was recorded until September, when five men were executed in the space of 35 days. On 10 October 2021, Iran Human Rights expressed its concern that the Taliban takeover in August had facilitated the execution of Afghan nationals. That number more than tripled in 2022, with 16 Afghan nationals including a juvenile offender and a woman executed. At least four Afghans have been executed in 2023.
Mohammad Paydar and Peyman Akbari-Birgani Executed in Khorramabad
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 16, 2023: Mohammad Paydar and Peyman Akbari-Birgani have been executed for drug-related charges in Khorramabad Central Prison. An unidentified man’s execution was postponed.
According to Hengaw, two men were executed in Kerman Central Prison on 15 May. Their identities have been reported as Mohammad Paydar and Peyman Akbari-Birgani (pictured), both Shoushtar natives.
They were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court. Per the report, the execution of another unidentified man on death row for the same charges, was postponed
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Unnamed Man Executed for Murder in Fereydunkenar
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 15, 2023: Official state media have reported the execution of an unnamed man for murder in Fereydounkenar Prison in Mazandaran province.
According to IRNA, a man was executed in Fereydunkenar Prison on 15 May. Sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, he has only been identified by the initials M.A.
The report states he was sentenced to death for the murder of his wife and child.
According to the 2022 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 582 people were executed in Iran. Of those, 288 were executed for murder charges.
Those charged with the umbrella term of “intentional murder” are sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) regardless of intent or circumstances due to a lack of grading in law. Once a defendant has been convicted, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.
Baluch Abdolrahman Mousazehi, Jalal Rigi and 3 Unidentified Men Executed in Hormozgan
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 15, 2023: Official state media have reported the execution of five unnamed men in Bandarabbas and Minab prisons.
According to ISNA, five men were executed in Bandarabbas Central Prison and Minab Prison in Hormozgan province on 15 May. Official media have not named the men who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.
Hal Vash, which reports news and human rights violations in Sistan and Baluchistan province has identified two of the executed men as 37-year-old Abdolrahman Mousazehi from Zahedan and Jalal Rigi (Barahouyi) from Mirjaveh. The two men were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions on 13 May.
Ethnic minorities, the Baluch in particular, are grossly overrepresented in execution numbers in Iran. In 2022, at least 174 Baluch minorities including 3 women, were executed in 22 prisons across Iran, making up 30% of overall executions. This is while they represent just 2-6% of Iran’s population.
Baluch minorities also represented almost half of drug-related executions in 2022. 47.3% of the 256 people executed for drug-related charges were Baluch.
Kiumars Menbari and Saeed Arjmandi Executed in Sanandaj
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 15, 2023: Kiumars Menbari and Saeed Arjmandi were executed for murder in Sanandaj Central Prison. Jamshid Karimi and Mostafa Salehi still await death penalty.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Sanandaj Central Prison on 14 May. Their identities have been established as Kiumars Menbari and Saeed Arjmandi who were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
Iran Human Rights warned of their imminent execution on 12 May. They were transferred for execution from Ward 6 of the prison.
At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
Jamshid Karami and Mostafa Salehi who were transferred for execution on 14 May, remain in solitary confinement awaiting execution. They are also on death row for murder.
Those charged with the umbrella term of “intentional murder” are sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) regardless of intent or circumstances due to a lack of grading in law. Once a defendant has been convicted, the victim’s family are required to choose between death as retribution, diya (blood money) or forgiveness.
Hossein Shabanzadeh Executed in Rasht, 2 Others Await Gallows
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 15, 2023: Hossein Shabanzadeh was executed for murder charges in Rasht Central Prison. Two unidentified prisoners are scheduled to be executed on 18 May.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Rasht Central Prison on 11 May. His identity has been established as 60-year-old Hossein Shabanzadeh who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder.
At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.
On 13 May, two other men were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions at the same prison. Also sentenced to death for murder, they are scheduled to be executed on 18 May should they fail to convince their victims’ families to forgo their right to execution.
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde