Iran | Executions in Yazd, Bandarabbas, Gorgan, Shiraz

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 19, 2024: Morteza Shah Esmaili and Nasim Narouyi (photo), two men on death row for drug-related charges, were executed in Yazd Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men including a Baluch minority were executed in Yazd Central Prison on 19 September. Their identities have been established as 35-year-old Morteza Shah Esmaili and 50-year-old Nasim Narouyi (Menan Barahouyi), a Baluch man from Zabol. Both men were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Nasim Narouyi was arrested five years ago and Morteza Shah Esmaili two years ago. Morteza was transferred from Ardakan prison to Yazd Central Prison ten days prior to execution.”

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.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”

Execution in Bandarabbas

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 18, 2024: Hamidreza Hassanzehi Sani, a Baluch man on death row for drug-related charges, was executed in Bandarabbas Central Prison.

According to Haal Vsh, a Baluch man was executed in Bandarabbas Central Prison on 17 September. His identity has been reported as 60-year-old Hamidreza Hassanzehi Sani from Zahedan.

Hamidreza was arrested for drug-related offences in Roudan in Hormozgan province in 2021 and sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court. He was transferred to Bandarabbas Central Prison a week prior to his executions.

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

Execution in Gorgan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 17, 2024: Alimorad Hassanzadeh, a man on death row for drug-related charges, was executed in Gorgan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Gorgan Central Prison on 16 September. His identity has been established as 33-year-old Alimorad Hassanzadeh.

Alimorad was arrested for drug-related offences two years ago and sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

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

Five executed in Shiraz

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); September 17, 2024: Mehdi Jahanpour and four Baluch men named Sasan Ben, Saeed Khajeh Heidari, Abdoljalil Ehsani and Yahya Zargari were executed for drug-related and murder charges in Shiraz Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two Baluch men were executed in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 15 September. Their identities have been established as 33-year-old Sasan Ben (Bozorgzadeh) and 30-year-old Saeed Khajeh Heidari who were sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

Furthermore, three other men including two Baluch minorities were executed at the prison the next day, 16 September 2024. The identities of the two Baluch men who were also sentenced to death for drug-related charges have been established as 33-year-old Abdoljalil Ehsani and 32-year-old Yahya Zargari from Iranshahr.

The third man who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, has been identified as 21-year-old Mehdi Jahanpour. He was executed secretly, without his family being notified and the chance to say goodbye.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Mehdi Jahanpour was accused of killing someone with a knife in Firouz Abad. Mehdi was in love with a girl who had another man pursuing her. He stopped Mehdi in the street and a fight broke out which ended with the other man being killed.”

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

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, September 17-19, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Facebook | Telegram | Contact Us

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

— Oscar Wilde

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog