Iran | Executions in Isfahan, Mashhad, Kashan, Miandoab, Shiraz, Ghezel Hesar

The death sentence of a prisoner, previously convicted on drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court, was carried out at dawn on Sunday, December 8, 2024, in Kashan Prison.

The prisoner, identified as Farhad Atashzadeh from a village in Bonab, East Azerbaijan province, was hanged at dawn on Sunday, December 8, 2024.

Mr. Atashzadeh was arrested approximately six years ago on drug-related charges and later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court. He was buried on December 9.

As of the time of this report, the execution has not been officially announced by prison authorities or related institutions.

The reports from the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists for the year 2023 reveal a concerning prevalence of executions for drug offenses in Iran, constituting 56.4% of the total executions. For a comprehensive examination of the details and statistics surrounding the executions in Iran, refer to HRANA’s report.

Executions in Isfahan, Mashhad

December 12, the death sentences of three prisoners, previously convicted on charges related to drug offenses and murder, were carried out in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan and Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.

According to HRANA, quoting the Iranian Human Rights Organization, on Thursday, December 12, 2024, one prisoner was executed in Dastgerd Prison, Isfahan.

According to the Iranian Human Rights Organization, Majid Esmaeili, 30 years old and a resident of Isfahan, was executed in Isfahan Prison. Based on this report, Mr. Esmaeili was arrested three years ago on charges of murder during a street altercation. He was subsequently sentenced to death by the judiciary.

According to Haal Vsh, two prisoners were executed yesterday in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad.

The prisoners were identified as Mohammad Shah Achakzahi, 22, and Rahim Achakzehi, 24, both Afghan nationals residing in Mashhad.

The report states that the two individuals were arrested in 2022 on drug-related charges in Mashhad and later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court of the city.

At the time of this report’s publication, prison authorities and responsible institutions had not officially announced the executions.

According to latest HRANA’s annual report over between October 10, 2023, and October 8, 2024, at least 811 individuals were executed by hanging in Iran, rising to 23.06% compared to the same period last year. Of these executions, four were carried out in public. Many of the defendants were denied a fair trial.

Executions in Miandoab

December 12, two prisoners previously sentenced to death on murder charges were executed in Miandoab Prison.

The identities of the prisoners, confirmed by HRANA, are Sajjad Azizi and Ebrahim Valizadeh, both residents of a village in Miandoab.

Based on information received by HRANA, the two individuals were involved in a fatal altercation and were subsequently convicted of murder by the Criminal Court of Miandoab.

As of the time of this report, the executions have not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions.

Execution in Shiraz

December 12, the death sentence of a prisoner previously convicted of murder was carried out in Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.

The identity of the prisoner, previously arrested on charges of murder and sentenced to death by the Criminal Court, has been confirmed by HRANA as Gholam Roosta.

As of the time of this report, the execution has not been officially announced by prison authorities or relevant institutions. In 2023, 66% of HRANA’s reports on executions lacked official announcements by judicial authorities and went unreported by media inside Iran, highlighting a troubling lack of transparency in due process.

According to data compiled by HRANA, Adelabad Prison carried out 49 executions in 2023, ranking five among prisons across Iran. For a comprehensive examination of the details and statistics surrounding the executions in Iran, refer to HRANA’s report.

At Least Nine Executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison

At dawn on December 11, 2024, the death sentences of at least nine prisoners were carried out in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj. Five of the individuals had been convicted of murder, while four were sentenced to death on drug-related charges.

HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, has confirmed the identities of five of the executed prisoners: Ahmad Jahan Khani, Nasser Tokhchi, Iman Moghadam, Rahman Sarlak, and Abdullah Tajik.

According to HRANA, Jahan Khani and four others had been convicted of murder. Tokhchi, Moghadam, Sarlak, and Tajik were sentenced to death for drug-related offenses. Abdullah Tajik was identified as an Afghan national.

On December 9, HRANA reported that the prisoners had been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions.

At the time of this report, neither prison authorities nor relevant officials have officially announced or confirmed the executions.

According to data gathered by the Department of Statistics and Publication of Human Rights Activists, Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj witnessed the highest number of executions in 2023, with Zahedan Prison following closely behind. For a comprehensive examination of the details and statistics surrounding the executions in Iran, refer to HRANA’s report.

Source: hrana.org, Staff, December 8-13, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Instagram | 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