Death Penalty News

The Iranian authorities must immediately halt all plans to execute eight individuals sentenced to death after being convicted of committing offences during the January 2026 nationwide protests, Amnesty International said today.  The organization is urging authorities to quash their convictions and death sentences, and promptly put an end to expedited torture-tainted grossly unfair trials against at least 22 others in connection to the uprising.

The Iranian authorities must halt all plans to carry out arbitrary executions and protect all those arrested over accusations of espionage for Israel from enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, Amnesty International said today. Since Israel’s attacks on Iran began on 13 June, Iranian authorities have arrested scores of people over accusations of “collaboration” with Israel, made chilling calls for expedited trials and executions, and executed one man on 16 June. There are also grave concerns for those who were already on death row, including at least eight men sentenced to death for such accusations following unfair trials.

The Iranian regime stepped-up repression by the soaring executions and widespread arrests of civil activists and protesters, on the one hand, and escalated pressure on prisoners, especially those incarcerated on political grounds. January saw the clerical regime ratchet up social clampdown in step with the growing discontent and the spread of popular protests. Arbitrary killings, violations of prisoners’ rights, as well as torture and ill-treatment of civilians continued. Prisoners also experienced greater pressure than before. New prison sentences were issued for civil activists in various cities, and some were summoned to serve their sentences. In some cases, security forces used brute force to transfer them to jail. The clerical regime also violated the principle of separation of crimes by banishing political prisoners to remote prisons and among ordinary convicts. This month’s report is a brief review of the abysmal conditions of human rights in Iran. Executions The stepped-up repr...

Dhaka, Jan 31 (EFE).- A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced two former police officers to death for the extra-judicial killing of a retired army major in July 2020, in a case that triggered a wave of indignation and tensions between different security forces of the country. The former police chief of the southern Teknaf region, Pradeep Kumar Das, and police inspector Liyakat Ali were sentenced to death for the killing of retired military officer Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan, prosecutor Faridual Alam told EFE. Mohammad Ismail, the judge at a lower court in the southeastern Cox’s Bazar district, also handed life imprisonment on six other people – including three police officers – for their alleged involvement in killing Khan, while six other accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence. “We are fully satisfied with the verdict. We will make a decision about appealing against the acquittals and lighter punishments after talking to the family of the victim,” Alam said. Before retiring, 36...

Record of suppression under Iran regime includes at least 350 executions, 3800 detentions and 112 state murders According to the statistics center of the human rights center of “No to Prison- No to Execution” the record of suppression under Iran regime includes at least 350 executions, 3800 detentions and 112 state murders.  RELATED |  High number of Iran executions in 2021 signals worsening rights condition RELATED | Iran’s Dismal Human Rights In 2021 – OpEd According to this statistic, there has been an average of one execution and at least 10 detentions per day. During large-scale protests, especially in the three major uprisings in Saravan, Khuzestan, and Isfahan, this suppression has manifested itself in government agents firing on people and killing or maiming them; vast arrests have taken place. Executions in Iran in 2021 In year 2021, at least 350 prisoners have been executed in Iran. The real figure is higher with no doubt as many executions are carried out in secrec...

Monthly Report November 2021, Iran Human Rights Monitor On Friday, November 26, 2021, government troops and anti-riot guards attacked the sit-in protest of farmers in the dried up riverbed of Zayanderud in Isfahan. Many farmers and citizens were wounded and arrested in this raid. The State Security Force and its special units were stationed in three locations around the Khajou Bridge and on the roads leading to Zayanderud to prevent people’s gathering. Security and intelligence forces had sent threatening text messages to the public warning them against participating in the farmers’ protest on Friday, November 26. Isfahan farmers started their sit-in protest since November 7 in protest of the regime’s failure to implement efficient plans for water distribution. On Friday, November 19, thousands of residents of Isfahan joined Isfahan farmers’ protest upon the latter’s call. They held a gathering on the Khajou Bridge and on the riverbed of Zayanderud. Previously, in the early hours of Th...

The religious fundamentalists of the Taliban who now rule Afghanistan have established a “kill list” targeting the LGBT community in Afghanistan, Canadian NGO Rainbow Railroad said Monday, and is ramping up persecution. “This is a really scary time to be in Afghanistan,” spokesman Kimahli Powell said. “We now know for sure the Taliban has a ‘kill list’ circulating, identifying LGBT persons.” He said the Islamist group, which regained power in August following the end of the two-decade-long U.S. occupation, had gained the information by paying close attention to the names of people that human rights groups were helping to evacuate. “After the fall of Kabul, there was a lot of information-sharing,” he said, explaining that those left behind were vulnerable as their identities had been exposed. Personal information has been leaked to the Taliban, while others have been victims of entrapment. “[Some] individuals who have reached out to us have told us about how they’ve received a mystery e...

October 2021 saw the continuation of executions in Iran coupled with a stepped-up pressure on political prisoners. The security forces arbitrarily opened fire on citizens leading to the deaths and injuries of a number of them. Iran Human Rights Monitor’s Monthly Report October 2021 provides but a small part of widespread violations of human rights in Iran last month. Violation of the right to life At least 27 death penalties were carried out in various Iranian prisons during October 2021. At least 12 victims were convicted of drug-related charges and another 13, including a woman, were charged with murder. Susan Rezaei-pour was hanged on the charge of murder in the Central Prison of Qazvin at dawn on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, after serving six years in prison. Violation of the right to freedom of speech Suppression of the freedom of speech continued in Iran in October 2021. The Revolutionary Court of Saqqez, in the Iranian Kurdistan Province, sentenced Kayvan Rahimi to four months i...

Hacked footage from security cameras in Iran’s Evin Prison and the publication of some of the prison’s documents published online by a group of hackers “Edalat-e Ali” (Ali’s Justice) revealed a fraction of the crimes committed in Iran’s prisons. The footage shows guards beating and dragging prisoners on the floor. The videos also show inmates attempting to commit suicide, overcrowded cells, and cells with horrible conditions. The release of these images provoked strong reactions from international human rights organizations. The head of Iran’s prisons, Mohammad Mehdi Haj Mohammadi tweeted on August 24, 2021, that he accepts “responsibility,” asks “forgiveness” from God, and said he would make an “effort” to prevent further mistreatment yet has yet to follow through on his pledge. It was a rare admission of abuse by authorities. After the videos surfaced, human rights organizations and activists reiterated calls to hold the regime to account for its human rights abuses. “This disturbing...

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Sohail Pardis was driving from his home in Afghanistan's capital Kabul to nearby Khost province to pick up his sister for the upcoming Eid holiday celebrations to mark the end of Ramadan. It was supposed to be a happy occasion enjoyed with family. But during the five-hour trip on May 12, as Pardis, 32, drove through a stretch of desert, his vehicle was blocked at a checkpoint by Taliban militants. Just days before, Pardis had confided to his friend that he was receiving death threats from the Taliban, who had discovered he had worked as a translator for the United States Army for 16 months during the 20-year-long conflict. "They were telling him you are a spy for the Americans, you are the eyes of the Americans and you are infidel, and we will kill you and your family," his friend and co-worker Abdulhaq Ayoubi told CNN. As he approached the checkpoint, Pardis put his foot on the accelerator to speed through. He was not seen alive again. Village...