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Activists Call on President Biden to End the Federal Death Penalty Before Leaving Office

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A conversation with Death Penalty Action Co-founder and Executive Director Abe Bonowitz. Now that Joe Biden is a lame duck president, activists are holding him accountable to make good on his promise to end the federal death penalty during his remaining six months as president. Biden’s election campaign in 2020 had pledged to end the federal death penalty and incentivize the remaining 27 states that still allow executions to do the same. While he made history as the first president in the United States to openly oppose the death penalty, there has been no movement to actually end federal executions during his nearly four years in office.

Iran | Executions in Kermanshah, Jiroft, Qazvin, Karaj, Noshahr, Isfahan, Hamedan, Miandoab

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 15, 2024: Mostafa Fashi, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Kermanshah Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Kermanshah (Dizel Abad) Prison on 10th September. His identity has been established as 37-year-old Mostafa Fashi from Kangavar county in Kermanshah. He was sentenced to qisas for murder.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

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. Crucially, while an indicative amount is set by the Judiciary every year, there is no legal limit to how much can be demanded by families of the victims. IHRNGO has recorded many cases where defendants are executed because they cannot afford to pay the blood money.

In 2023, at least 282 people including two juvenile offenders and 15 women, were executed for murder charges, the second highest number of qisas executions since 2010. Only 20% of the recorded qisas executions were announced by official sources. In 2023, Iran Human Rights also recorded 857 cases of families choosing diya or forgiveness instead of qisas executions.

Execution in Qazvin


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 14, 2024: Kiumars Alayi, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Qazvin Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Qazvin (Choobindar) Prison on 10th September. His identity has been established as 40-year-old Kiumars Alalyi, a father of one. He was sentenced to qisas for murder and spent three years on death row.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Execution in Jiroft


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 13, 2024: Mansour Salari, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Jiroft Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Jiroft Prison on 10th September. His identity has been established as 37-year-old Mansour Salari who was sentenced to qisas for murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mansour Salari was from Jiroft and had been arrested for murder seven years ago. He was accused of killing his cousin over personal issues.”

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Executions in Karaj


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 12, 2024: Sajad Bandegi, a Kurdish man, and Abdolrahman Tajik, an Afghan national, were executed for drug-related charges in Zahedan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least two men were executed in Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj on 11 September. One of the men has been identified as Sajad Bandegi, a 35-year-old Kurdish man from Kermanshah who was on death row for drug-related charges for 10 years.

HRANA news agency reported the second man’s identity as Abdolrahman Tajik, an Afghan national who was also sentenced to death for drug-related offences.

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year since 2021. According to IHRNGO’s 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020. In the first six months of 2024, at least 147 people were executed for the charges.

Executions in Noshahr


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 12, 2024: Morteza Yousefi, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Noshahr Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Noshahr Prison in Mazandaran province on 11 September. His identity has been established as 41-year-old Morteza Yousefi who was sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Execution in Isfahan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 12, 2024: Behnam Bagheri, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Isfahan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison on 11th September. His identity has been established as 30-year-old Behnam Bagheri who was sentenced to qisas for murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Behnam Bagheri was arrested for murder five years ago when he was 25 years old.”

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials

Execution in Hamedan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 11, 2024: Saber Jamali, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, was executed in Hamedan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 1st September. His identity has been established as 29-year-old Saber Jamali who was sentenced to qisas for murder.

HRANA news agency which first published news of his execution, reported that he was from Kangavar.

At the time of writing, his execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Executions in Miandoab 


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 10, 2024: Feizollah Hosseinpour and Soleiman Ghahremani, two Kurdish men sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, were executed in Miandoab Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two Kurdish men were executed in Miandoab Prison in West Azerbaijan province on 9th September. Their identities have been established as Feizollah Hosseinpour and Soleiman Ghahremani who were sentenced to qisas for murder.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Feizollah Hosseinpour was arrested for murder with a knife during a dispute over farm land six years ago. Soleiman Ghahremani was arrested for murder five years ago.”

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, September 10-18, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________








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

— Oscar Wilde



Location: Iran
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