In the past week, authorities in Iran hanged at least 17 inmates in different cities. Most of the executed persons were convicted to death on drug-related charges and their death penalties were carried out at Urmia Central Prison, in the northwestern Iranian province of West Azarbaijan. In some cases, authorities deprived death-row inmates of their basic rights like the last visit with their families.
On Sunday, April 4, the government executed three inmates, Ahad Habibvand, Sadegh Mohi, and Mohammad Karim Mahmoudi, at Urmia Central Prison. Also, the government hanged 36-year-old Hojjat Ghaed in Zanjan Prison.
On Wednesday, April 7, Iranian Baluch Yaser Daryaei Narouei was executed at Sabzevar Prison, in the northeastern Iranian province of Razavi Khorasan. Authorities deprived him of the last visit with his family. Furthermore, rights activists reported that Mr. Daryaei Narouei did not have access to a lawyer and was held in a detention center for one and a half years.
On Thursday, April 8, 39-year-old Safar Rahimi was executed in Taybad Prison, in Razavi Khorasan province. Moreover, the state-run ROKNA news agency reported that authorities implemented the death sentence of two prisoners at Babol Prison, in the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran. According to the news agency, the executed persons were two men identified only by their initials A.A. and K.H.
On Friday, April 9, authorities hanged four prisoners, Mahmoud Bayazid, Ali Mohammadzadeh, Arshad Heydari, and Hamid Najmi, in Urmia Central Prison.
On Saturday, April 10, Yousef Rasho Hashtian, also known as Bayazid Rashidi, was executed at Urmia Central Prison. He had been transferred to solitary confinement two days in advance, as a routine process of execution.
On Sunday, April 11, authorities executed Morteza Kabiri at Isfahan Central Prison, in the central Iranian province of Isfahan. According to human rights activists, at least three other inmates have been transferred to solitary confinement in this prison in preparation for their execution.
On Monday, April 12, the human rights association No to Prison – No to Execution reported that authorities had executed at least three inmates. One of the executed persons was 39-year-old Ghorban Karimi from the Zeynabieh district. He had a seven-year-old daughter. Mr. Karimi was held in prison for seven years. There is no information about the two other persons.
According to Iran Human Rights Monitor, the Iranian government has executed at least 90 inmates since the start of 2021. However, activists believe that the real figure is far higher because the authorities implement around 72 percent of death penalties in secret.
Furthermore, on April 12, in an initiative, the European Union sanctioned eight Iranian militia commanders and police chiefs, as well as three entities for gross and systematic violations of human rights. According to Reuters, Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is among the designated persons.
These individuals and entities were added to the EU sanctions regime for their role in the violent response to the November 2019 protests in Iran. According to the opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), Iranian authorities killed more than 1,500 defenseless people during the bloody crackdown on demonstrations.
“These measures consist of a travel ban and an asset freeze, and a ban on exports to Iran of equipment which might be used for internal repression and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications. In addition, EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to the listed individuals and entities,” the EU Council statement read.
