Iran | Executions in Miandoab, Ardakan, Semnan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 17, 2024: Behzad Seyedi Bukani, a Kurdish man on death row for murder charges, was executed in Miandoab Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a Kurdish man was executed in Miandoab Prison in West Azerbaijan province on 16 December. His identity has been established as Behzad Seyedi Bukani who was 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.

Executions in Ardakan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 17, 2024: Mohammad Ali Darakeh and Siavosh Yari, two men on death row for drug-related offences, were executed in Ardakan Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, two men were executed in Ardakan Prison in Yazd province on 28 November. Their identities have been established as 54-year-old Mohammad Ali Darakeh and 67-year-old Siavosh Yari, both from Kermanshah.

They were arrested in separate cases three years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

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 Semnan

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 17, 2024: Hadi Molakazemi, a man on death row for drug-related offences, was executed in Semnan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Semnan Central Prison on 15 December. His identity has been established 42-year-old Had Molakazemi who was arrested five and years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related charges by the Revolutionary Court.

An informed source told IHRNGO: “Hadi never accepted the charges and maintained that the drugs didn’t belong to him. He’d married four days before his arrest and his wife’s family filed for divorce after two years.”

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

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, December 17, 2024

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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

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