Death Penalty News

(File photo) NCRI - As the executions of prisoners continue unabated in Iran, the clerical regime’s henchmen hang two other prisoners in public in the western city of Kermanshah. The two men were hanged in two locations in the city at 10:00 in the morning local time on Wednesday. The public hanging follows executions in several prisons in cities across Iran, few of which have been officially announced. According to the reports received from various sources dozens of prisoners have been hanged during the past weekend alone in prisons across Iran. Official news websites reported that four prisoners have been hanged on Sunday in city of Arak and another prisoner has been hanged on Tuesday morning in the main prison in the city of Rasht. Source: NCRI , Feb. 25, 2015 4 men hanged in Arak 4 prisoners hanged in the main prison in the city of Arak on Tuesday, the judiciary's website in the Central Province has announced. The prisoners were only identified b...

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network has confirmed that 2 brothers, Ali and Habib Afshari, who were in the group of 6 political prisoners imprisoned in Urmia prison have been hanged. Activists Habib and Ali Afshari were declared guilty of "corruption on earth" and "acting against God's will" by the Iranian revolutionary court of Mahabad. On January 16, 2012, they were sentenced to be executed. The statement made by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network is as follows: The partner of Ali Afshari has told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network that on Friday 20th of February, at noon the Office of Intelligence Service of Iran contacted Mrs Afshari to inform her of the execution of Ali and his brother Habib. 1 of the relatives of the 2 brothers was also called to the Intelligence Services Offices to be formally informed of the execution of both Ali and Habib Afshari. The family has also been informed that they are not permitted to hold funerals for the exe...

Saman Naseem Iran Human Rights, February 20, 2015: The Kurdish political prisoner Saman Naseem who was sentenced to death for offences he allegedely committed at 17 years of age, was executed in the prison of Urmia (Northwest of Iran). Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported earlier that Saman’s family were contacted by the authorities yesterday to meet at the prison to collect Saman’s belongings on Saturday. According to several independent sources, Saman’s family have been asked earlier today to collect Saman’s body tomorrow, Saturday 21. February. It is still unclear whether Saman was executed yesterday (Thursday) or today. IHR strongly condemns Saman Naseem’s unlawful and inhumane execution. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR, said: Ali Khamenei, the Iranian authorities’ Supreme leader must be held responsible for the inhumane treatment and execution of Saman Naseem. We urge the international community to strongly condemn this execution. Saman Naseem’s execut...

Saman Naseem Iran has halted the execution of Kurdish juvenile offender Saman Naseem following the outrage of right groups. It is not yet clear why the execution was stopped and whether his death penalty has been overturned. "We understand that the Office for the Implementation of Sentences told Saman's family that the execution did not take place this morning," Bahareh Davis, Amnesty International's researcher on Iran, told IBTimes UK. "However, the authorities will not tell the family where Saman currently is being held and he has not been transferred back to the prison ward. We are trying to obtain further information now." Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson for NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), said that the inmates at the Orumiyeh prison have not seen Naseem since he was transferred on Tuesday (18 February). "Unofficial reports indicate that the sentence has not been implemented yet, but that he remains in great danger,"...

Saman Naseem International human rights groups have appealed to Tehran to halt the planned execution an Iranian-Kurdish man who was 17 when he was arrested. Saman Naseem, 22, is due to be executed on Thursday for his alleged membership of a banned Kurdish party and involvement in armed confrontation. He was sentenced to death in April 2013, after allegedly being forced to confess by the use of torture. The UN has voiced concern about a rise in executions in Iran since 2013. "Time is running out for Saman Naseem. The fact that Iran is willing to execute a man who was tortured to confess to a crime he is accused of having committed as when he was a child, shows the state of injustice in the country", Amnesty International's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said. It was not too late to stop his execution and launch "a thorough judicial review of his case", she added. The international Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) also demanded a halt to the ...

Saman Naseem Iranian political prisoner Saman Naseem scheduled to be executed on 19 February was beaten on Sunday to force him to make TV ‘confessions,’ according to Amnesty International. The human rights organization published an Urgent Action to save life of Naseem who was arrested when he was 17 years old. Saman Naseem was sentenced to death in April 2013 by a criminal court in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (ifsad fil-arz) because of his membership of a Kurdish opposition group. “Saman Naseem was allowed no access to his lawyer during early investigations and he said he was tortured, which included the removal of his finger and toe nails and being hung upside down for several hours,” Amnesty statement said. “Saman Naseem called his family on 15 February and told them that earlier that day men in plain clothes had taken him to the security department of the Oroumieh Prison. He said the men, wh...

Saman Naseemn Amnesty International is appealing to halt the execution of an Iranian arrested at the age of 17 and tortured for 97 days in a bid to force a confession of membership of an armed opposition group. Saman Naseem is due to executed on February 19, after being arrested on July 17, 2011, after a gun battle between Revolutionary Guards and an armed opposition group. After his arrest he was held in a Ministry of Intelligence detention centre without any access to his family or a lawyer. Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a press release: "That the Iranian authorities are preparing to put to death a young man who’s been tortured for 97 days to ‘confess’ when he was 17 years old beggars belief. "With less than a week left before he is due to be executed, there is no time to waste. Saman’s execution must be immediately stopped and his case thoroughly reviewed. "In a let...

Iranian juvenile offender, Saman Naseem, could be executed as early as 19 February 2015 for crimes allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. He was sentenced to death after an unfair trial.  The family of Saman Naseem, who is now aged 22, have received reliable information that he will be executed on 19 February. Amnesty International  understands that the authorities have prevented Saman Naseem’s lawyer from pursuing the case and have not allowed him to appoint another lawyer.  Saman Naseem was sentenced to death in April 2013 by a criminal court in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (ifsad fil-arz) because of his membership of the Kurdish armed opposition group Party For Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), and for taking part in armed activities against the Revolutionary Guards. His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2013.  According to court documents, during early...