On Saturday, June 1, the Human Rights Organization Hengaw reported a troubling surge in executions within Iranian prisons, with at least 67 prisoners executed in the last month alone.
Hengaw’s statistics and documents center confirmed the identities of 66 of these prisoners for May. The highest number of executions occurred in West Azarbaijan Province (Urmia), with 13 cases. Following closely were the provinces of Alborz with 10 cases, Isfahan with 7, Fars with 6, and both Kerman and East Azerbaijan with 5 cases each.
Other provinces also saw executions: Ardabil and Qom with 4 cases each; Qazvin with 3 cases; Ilam, Razavi Khorasan, Zanjan, and Golestan with 2 cases each; and Kermanshah and Semnan with 1 case each.
The report highlighted that 37% of the death sentences were related to Kurdish prisoners, totaling 25 individuals. Additionally, 15 Turkish prisoners, 5 Baloch prisoners, and 3 Afghan nationals were also executed.
Hengaw pointed out the execution of two Kurdish prisoners, Khosro Besharat and Anwar Khezri, in Qazalhasar prison in Karaj. Moreover, Ramin Saadat, a juvenile from Miandoab, was executed in the central prison of this city.
At least four women were among those executed in May: Fariba Mohammadzehi from Zahedan in Kerman prison, Razieh from Mashhad in Vakil Abad prison, Parveen Mousavi from Maragheh in Urmia prison, and Fatemeh Abdollahpour from Neishabur in Central Prison in Neishabur.
Although the number of executions in May decreased by 10 cases, or 13%, compared to April when 77 prisoners were executed, the situation remains dire.
On Friday, May 31, six prisoners, including a juvenile named Arif Rasouli who allegedly committed ‘intentional murder’ at age 17, were moved to solitary confinement in Shiraz Central Prison (Adel Abad) in preparation for their executions.
Previously, on May 29, Amnesty International released its annual report on the death penalty, highlighting a sharp 48% increase in executions in Iran, which has significantly impacted global statistics. The report noted that the number of executions in Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, reached its highest level in nearly a decade.
Amnesty International recorded a total of 1,153 death sentences carried out worldwide last year, marking a 30% increase from two years ago. However, this figure does not include the thousands of executions believed to have occurred in China, where government secrecy prevails.
The surge in executions in Iran contributed substantially to the global increase, with the Islamic Republic executing at least 853 people last year, up from 576 the previous year.
