FEATURED POST

Singapore | Inside the prison that executes people for supplying cannabis

Published
Image
Singapore CNN  — Though he is provided with a straw mat, Matthew says he prefers to sleep on the concrete floor of his cell in the maximum-security wing of Singapore’s Changi Prison. “It’s more cooling that way,” says the 41-year-old former schoolteacher, who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison and seven strokes of the cane for selling methamphetamine. CNN met Matthew, who spoke on condition that his last name be withheld, during an exclusive tour of Changi Prison provided by Singapore authorities as they defended the city-state’s uncompromising position on drugs.

Iran | Executions in Karaj, Urmia, Mashhad, Shirvan, Qazvin, Hamedan

Published
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 19, 2024: At least 6 men including four Afghan nationals were executed for drug-related and murder charges in Ghezelhesar Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least six men were executed in Ghezelhesar Prison in Karaj on 16 October. Four of the men were sentenced to death for drug-related charges. Three of their identities have been established as Javid Ahmadi and Afghan nationals Abdolbari Tajik and Pasha Pashto. The fourth man has not been identified at the time of writing.

The two other men were Afghan national who were sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder. IHRNGO is working to establish their identities.

Four others who were transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison for execution are also reported to have been executed which IHRNGO has not been able to verify at the time of writing.

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 Urmia


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 19, 2024: Amir Soleimani, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Urmia Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Urmia (Darya) Central Prison on 15 October. His identity has been established as 33-year-old Amir Soleimani from Urmia.

He was arrested for murder charges three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

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 Mashhad


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 18, 2024: Alireza Kheshavehpour, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Mashhad Central Prison.

According to HRANA news agency, a man was executed in Mashhad (Vakil Abad) Central Prison on 14th October. His identity has been reported as Alireza Kheshavehpour who was sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court. He was transferred for execution the day prior.

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

Execution in Shirvan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 18, 2024: Vali Heshmatpour, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Shirvan Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Shirvan Prison in North Khorasan Razavi province on 15th October. His identity has been established as Vali Heshmatpour who was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Vali Heshmatpour was transferred from another prison for execution in Shirvan Prison. The murder he was convicted for took place in Shiravan.”

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

Execution in Qazvin


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 18, 2024: Ali Maroufkhani, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Qazvin Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Qazvin (Choobindar) Central Prison on 10th October. His identity has been established as Ali Maroufkhani who was sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Ali Maroufkhani was arrested for drug charges with another person nearly four years ago and both were sentenced to death.”

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

Two executed in Hamedan


Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 18, 2024: Rasoul Fili and an unidentified woman who were on death row for drug-related offences, were executed in Hamedan Central Prison.

According to HRANA news agency, a woman and man were executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 14th October. The man’s identity has been reported as Rasoul Fili. Both he and the unidentified woman were sentenced to death for drug-related offences by the Revolutionary Court.

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

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, October 18-19, 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
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

After acquittal of ex-death row inmate, debate needed on Japan's death penalty

Published
Image
Japan should be ensuring the safety of its citizens, but instead it is taking people's lives. Is it acceptable to maintain the ultimate penalty under such circumstances? This is a serious question for society. The acquittal of 88-year-old Iwao Hakamada, who had been handed the death penalty, has been finalized after prosecutors decided not to appeal the verdict issued by the Shizuoka District Court during his retrial.
Read more

Singapore | Inside the prison that executes people for supplying cannabis

Published
Image
Singapore CNN  — Though he is provided with a straw mat, Matthew says he prefers to sleep on the concrete floor of his cell in the maximum-security wing of Singapore’s Changi Prison. “It’s more cooling that way,” says the 41-year-old former schoolteacher, who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison and seven strokes of the cane for selling methamphetamine. CNN met Matthew, who spoke on condition that his last name be withheld, during an exclusive tour of Changi Prison provided by Singapore authorities as they defended the city-state’s uncompromising position on drugs.
Read more

Alabama executes Derrick Dearman

Published
Image
Derrick Dearman, who killed 5 in south Alabama axe murders, executed Thursday  Alabama death row inmate Derrick Dearman, who was convicted in the 2016 slayings of 5 people with an axe and 2 guns, was put to death Thursday night by lethal injection. He had given up his appeals earlier this year and volunteered to have his execution set.
Read more

Idaho death-row inmate survived injection intended to kill him. Now state will try again.

Published
Image
A day after Idaho prison’s system advised that it is again ready to perform a lethal injection, an Ada County judge issued the latest death warrant for Thomas Creech, the state’s longest-serving death row prisoner, and scheduled him for another execution.  Creech, 74, is now set to be executed on Nov. 13. If fulfilled, the execution would be Idaho’s first in more than a dozen years. Prison officials called off Creech’s planned execution earlier this year when for nearly an hour they were unable to locate a suitable vein for an IV to inject him with the lethal chemicals. 
Read more

Texas Supreme Court halts execution of man in shaken baby case after lawmakers’ last-minute appeal

Published
Image
The Texas Supreme Court halted Thursday night’s scheduled execution of a man who would have become the 1st person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. Supporters of Robert Roberson, who was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002, turned to the Texas high court, which normally does not get involved in criminal cases, after both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest criminal court, earlier in the day rejected appeals to halt his lethal injection.
Read more

Idaho | Firing squad chamber priced at $1M as state preps for next execution by lethal injection

Published
Image
The cost to maintain Idaho’s execution capabilities for prisoners sentenced to death, including upgrades to the area planned for a firing squad, has grown to nearly $1.3 million , according to the state’s prison system. The Idaho Department of Correction issued notice last week of changes to its procedures for lethal injection. These changes include the construction of an “execution preparation room” just before prisoners enter the execution chamber at the state’s maximum-security prison south of Boise. There, execution team members, with help from a “qualified physician,” will decide whether to use a standard IV or heightened means to inject the lethal chemicals.
Read more

California | LA County district attorney shares evidence in Menendez brothers case as he mulls their sentence

Published
Image
The Los Angeles district attorney has released new evidence in the Lyle and Erik Menendez case that could potentially lead to a review of their life sentences for murder. After their first widely publicized trial ended in a mistrial, a jury convicted the Menendez brothers of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty, following a second trial in 1996. While they never denied killing their parents, the brothers claimed they acted in self-defense and were lifelong victims of sexual abuse by their father. During the second trial, prosecutors argued the “abuse didn’t happen” and the judge overseeing the case did not allow much of the defense’s evidence of abuse to be presented, according to the brothers’ attorneys.
Read more

Switzerland | The Guillotine of Geneva

Published
Image
During the French annexation, 36 prisoners were executed using this device. Built in 1799, this structure basically consists of a tall, vertical oak frame fitted with a heavy steel blade with an oblique cutting edge and suspended from the top. It was designed for a rapid execution by decapitation of those who were condemned to death in the Swiss canton of Geneva during the French period. Today it is part of the Permanent Collection at the Tavel House, the oldest building in Geneva.  
Read more

Iran | Man convicted on Sharia's "Judge Knowledge" due to lack of evidence against him hanged after family failed to raise blood money

Published
Image
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 16, 2024: Younes Akhtar Samar, a man sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) based on elme-qazi and a qassameh ceremony due to the lack of evidence against him, was executed in Jiroft Prison after his family failed to raise the €300k blood money. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Jiroft Prison on 14 October. His identity has been established as Younes Akhtar Samar who was sentenced to qisas based on elm-e-qazi (knowledge of the judge) and a qassameh ceremony.
Read more