The official website of the Iranian judiciary in Fars Province, reported that two of the prisoners were hanged publicly in different squares of Shiraz, while the three others were hanged inside Adelabad prison.

According to the report the prisoners were identified as “A. P.” convicted of carrying 185 kilograms of heroin and 72 kilograms of crack, “A. K.” convicted of participation in selling 39 kilos and 800 grams of opium and carrying 9 kilos and 960 grams of opium, “M. A.” convicted og carrying 4 kilograms of heroin, “A. S.” convicted og keeping and selling 29 kilograms of Marijuana and more than 14 kilograms of opium, and “A. Z.” convicted of keeping 2 kilograms of heroin.

Age and gender of the prisoners was not specified in the report.

According to Iran Human Rights’ annual report on the death penalty in 2011, more than 80% of those executed in Iran were charged with drug-related crimes, while only 9% of them were identified by their full names.

AUTHOR: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
URL: http://iranhr.net/
E-MAIL: amirymoghaddam [at] gmail.com

One prisoner hanged in Western Iran

According to the official Iranian news agency IRNA, one prisoner was hanged in the prison of Doroud, Lorestan Province (West of Iran). The prisoner who was not identified by name, was convicted keeping 9 kilos and 618 grams of heroin, said the report.

Three prisoners were hanged in Northern Iran

According to the official website of the Iranian judiciary in Semnan province (Northern Iran), three prisoners were hanged in the prison of Shahrud early this morning, Thursday September 20.

The prisoners were identified as “M.M.”, “A. M.” and “M. R.” and convicted of “keeping and carrying large amounts of the narcotic substance crack”, said the report.

At least two prisoners were hanged in Urmia (Northwestern Iran)

According to the unofficial Kurdish news agency Kurdpa, sex prisoners were hanged in the prison of Urmia early this morning September 20. Execution of two of the prisoners has been confirmed by another independent source. These prisoners are identified as “Hashem Jahangiri” and “Iraj Deylami”, both charges with drug-related offences.

AUTHOR: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
URL: http://iranhr.net/
E-MAIL: amirymoghaddam [at] gmail.com

According to the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in the province of Semnan, one man was hanged publicly in Shahroud today, Monday September 10. According to the report, the man, 35, identified as “H. A”, was convicted of sodomy and rape.

Iranian news agencies reported that a man, identified as Sadegh Moradi, will be hanged in public in Tehran on September 11. According to the reports, Moradi— also known by the Iranian media as “Black Scorpion”— is convicted of the kidnapping and rape of 30 women.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) recently warned the international community that the number of executions in Iran may increase in September. According to official and unofficial reports, at least 17 people have been executed so far in September.

The number of public executions in Iran has increased dramatically in the past three years. It is believed that the Iranian authorities use the death penalty as an instrument to spread fear among the people.

AUTHOR: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
URL: http://iranhr.net/
E-MAIL: amirymoghaddam [at] gmail.com

Most of the executions will most likely be carried out following the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit scheduled to take place in Tehran from August 26-31. High-ranking officials from 40 NAM member countries along with observer countries and international organizations like the United Nations are expected to attend.

IHR urges the international community to pay special attention to Iran in the coming weeks. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson for IHR, said today, “There are several reports indicating that Iranian authorities have scheduled executions for the coming weeks. We are deeply concerned about these possible executions and urge the international community to react before it is too late.” He added, “We specifically ask the UN and leaders of the countries attending the NAM summit to address the issue of the death penalty in Iran.”

There were no reported executions in the Muslim month of Ramadan, which ended on August 20. It is expected that news of executions will emerge in the next month. According to the IHR annual death penalty reports, in the past years, there has been a noticeable increase in executions after Ramadan. In 2011, at least 72 people were executed in the first three weeks following Ramadan.

For the past few months, Iranian authorities have aired several times on state television what they call “confessions” of Iranians involved in espionage and cooperation with Israel. On August 6, state television aired purported confessions by 14 suspects (six women and eight men) in connection with the killing of five nuclear scientists. Some of the people whose “confessions” were aired on state television are: Behzad Abdoli, Firouzeh Yeganeh, Maryam Zargar, Ramtin Mahdavi Moshaie, Arash Kheradkish and Maziar Ebrahimi.

IHR believes that the confessions made by these prisoners were serious enough to put them at risk of execution. In May, another prisoner, identified as Majid Jamali Fashi, was hanged publicly in Tehran after his confessions were aired on state television.

There are other prisoners who are in imminent danger of execution and require urgent attention.

Gholamreza Khosravi, 50, was arrested in 2008 in Rafsanjan, Kerman (southeastern Iran). His initial charge was affiliated with his alleged support of Simay Azadi, a television station linked to the Mujahedin-e Khalgh (MEK or PMOI).

Gholamreza Khosravi was sentenced to death after a second trial in the Tehran Revolutionary Court. He was charged with Moharebeh (enmity against God) for his alleged ties to the MEK. The death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on April 21. According to sources in Iran, the execution is scheduled to take place on September 10.

Abdolreza Ghanbari, 44, a teacher, was arrested in the aftermath of the December 2009 Ashura protests. He was sentenced to death based on the charge of Moharebeh for his alleged ties with the MEK. His request for pardon was rejected by the Supreme Court. He may be executed at any time.

Ahmad Daneshpour Moghaddam, 42, and Mohsen Daneshpour Moghaddam, 69, son and father, were also arrested in connection with the Ashura protests. They were charged with Moharebeh, for their alleged ties with the MEK, and sentenced to death. They may be executed at any time.

There are continued concerns about the imminent execution of Saeed Malekpour, 37, a web programmer whose main charges include Moharebeh and Insulting and desecrating Islam. His death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in January 2012. He may be executed at any time.

There are also more than 20 Kurdish political prisoners on death row in Iran that may be in danger of imminent execution.

AUTHOR: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
URL: http://iranhr.net/
E-MAIL: amirymoghaddam [at] gmail.com

Ra'if Badawi is accused of attacking Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh (pictured above) among others, (Photo: Reuters)

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud

Re: Saudi Arabia: Free Editor Ra’if Badawi Held Under Cybercrime Law

Dear Prime Minister,

I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com.

I have been informed by Human Rights Watch and credible sources within Saudi Arabia that prosecutors have charged Ra’if Badawi under the 2007 Anti-Cybercrime law, alleging that his website “infringes on religious values” by providing a platform for open debate of views on religion and religious figures.

According to media reports Court documents show the evidence against Badawi includes a post on the website that asks, “is God unjust?”, sarcastic remarks about the Saudi religious police and a senior scholar, and a post that asks, “why is Saudi’s Grand Mufti blind?”

The prosecution’s evidence includes five website postings by Badawi and anonymous website members critical of Saudi religious authorities and two postings regarding theological questions, the charge sheet says. If convicted, Badawi faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to three million Saudi Riyals (US$800,000).

According to information of human rights watch, Saudi security forces stopped Badawi and arrested him on June 17, 2012, as he was driving in Jeddah, his wife and a close associate told Human Rights Watch. On the website, Badawi and others had declared May 7 a day for Saudi liberals, hoping to garner interest in open discussion about the differences between popular religion and politicized religion, said Su’ad al-Shammari, secretary general of the website.

Badawi had been living away from his home for months to avoid a run-in with the police, although he did not believe he was formally wanted for arrest, Badawi told Human Rights Watch in March.

On March 18, Shaikh Abd al-Rahman al-Barrak, a well-known conservative cleric, issued a religious ruling declaring Badawi an “unbeliever … and apostate who must be tried and sentenced according to what his words require.” Al-Barrak listed five pieces of what he described as evidence, such as Badawi’s alleged “claim that Muslims, Jews, Christians, and atheists are all equal,” and Badawi’s alleged “exposure of the inconveniences of the month of Ramadan.” Al-Barrak also dismissed the possibility of an open discussion of such matters, saying that even if these were not Badawi’s own opinions but an “account of the words of others, this is not allowed unless accompanied by a repudiation” of such words.

Saudi authorities have long harassed Badawi with politically motivated prosecutions for his debate of religious views, Human Rights Watch said. In March 2008, prosecutors arrested and detained Badawi for questioning, also for setting up his website, but released him after one day. Badawi left the country after being formally charged in May 2008. He returned when prosecutors apparently decided not to pursue his case, he told Human Rights Watch. Nevertheless, as a result of the charges, the government in 2009 barred Badawi from foreign travel and froze his business interests, depriving him of a source of income, he told Human Rights Watch.

Badawi had told Human Rights Watch that since al-Barrak’s March religious ruling, he feared for his life and for the lives of his family. His father and a brother have publicly distanced themselves from him and declared him an unbeliever. The charge sheet names his father as having initiated the legal action against Badawi, also including a charge of “filial disobedience,” although no instances of such disobedience are included in the charge sheet. A person close to Badawi told Human Rights Watch that Badawi has not seen his father in years.

Members of Badawi’s wife’s family also began agitating against him, Badawi told Human Rights Watch, leading his wife and three children to leave the country. Badawi had learned that his wife’s relatives were filing suit in a Jeddah court to have him forcibly divorced from his wife as an apostate, and thus not allowed to marry a Muslim woman under Islamic law. His wife and children remain abroad.

International human rights law protects the right to freedom of expression. International standards only allow content-based restrictions in extremely narrow circumstances, such as cases of slander or libel against private individuals or speech that threatens national security. Restrictions must be clearly defined, specific, necessary, and proportionate to the threat to the interest protected.

The mere fact that forms of expression are considered to be insulting to a public figure is not sufficient to justify the imposition of penalties, the UN Human Rights Committee said in its 2011 General Comment No. 34 regarding permissible limits on freedom of expression. Regarding restrictions for the protection of public morals, the committee in its 1993 General Comment No. 22 on freedom of religion observed “that the concept of morals derives from many social, philosophical and religious traditions; consequently, limitations… for the purpose of protecting morals must be based on principles not deriving exclusively from a single tradition.”

I urge you to immediately release editor Ra’if Badawi held under Cybercrime Law and ensure freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia.

AUTHOR: William Nicholas Gomes
URL: www.williamgomes.org
E-MAIL: williamgomes.org [at] gmail.com

Ten of the executions were announced by official Iranian media while 16 other executions were reported by a rights group.

SEVEN PRISONERS, AMONG THEM ONE WOMAN, EXECUTED IN KERMANSHAH (WESTERN IRAN)

According to the official site of the Iranian judiciary in Kermanshah seven prisoners were hanged in the central prison of this city early yesterday morning, May 16.

All the prisoners were convicted of drug-related charges said the report.

According to the report the prisoners executed yesterday in Kermanshah are identified as:

“A. A.” (woman) for keeping and carrying 27 kilograms of heroin, “R. A.” for participation in keeping and carrying 100 kilograms of morphine and 254 kilograms of opium, “Kh. Sh.” for participation in keeping and carrying 57 kilograms of opium, “M. B.” for participation in keeping and carrying 69 kilograms of opium, “A. S.” for participation in keeping and carrying 4 kilos and 548 grams of morphine, “M. S.”For participation in keeping and carrying narcotics (not specified in the report), and “M. Kh.” for participation in keeping and carrying 1529 grams of crack.

THREE PRISONERS HANGED IN THE PRISON OF ARDEBIL (NORTHEASTERN IRAN)

The official website of the Iranian judiciary in Ardebil (northeastern Iran) reported about execution of three prisoners in the prison of Ardebil this morning, Thursday May 17. According to the report the prisoners were convicted of buying and carrying 105 grams of heroin, 498,15 grams of heroin and 160 kilograms and 493 grams of opium. None of the prisoners were identified by their names.

16 PRISONERS (AMONG THEM FOUR WOMEN) WERE HANGED IN THE PRISON F YAZD (CENTRAL IRAN) ACCORDING TO UNOFFICIAL REPORT

According to a report by the group “Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran” (HRDAI), 16 prisoners were hanged in the prison of Yazd early this morning Thursday May 17. According to the report there were four women among the prisoners executed today. The report also said that five of the 16 prisoners were Afghan citizens. One of the Afghan prisoners executed today was identified by “Mohammad Damardeh” (25 year old) son of Nour Mohammad originally imprisoned for illegal immigration to Iran but later the case changed to drug trafficking, said the report.

The executions in Yazd have still not been confirmed by the official Iranian sources.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns yesterday and today’s mass executions in the Iranian prisons. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR urged the international community to show strong reaction to the executions in Iran. He said: “The world must not get used to the executions in Iran. Most of the people executed in Iran haven’t been through fair trials and each of the executions must be condemned by the international community”.

AUTHOR: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
URL: http://iranhr.net/
E-MAIL: amirymoghaddam [at] gmail.com

According to the official website of the Iranian judiciary in Semnan Province five prisoners, among them four Afghan citizens, were hanged in the prison of Shahrud. The prisoners were identified as “M. M.”, “S. P.”, “A. S.”, “M. B.” (all Afghan citizens) and “H. P.”, and were convicted of keeping and carrying large quantities of narcotic substances, according to the report.

Eight prisoners, among them one Afghan citizen, were hanged in Karaj.

According to unofficial reports published by the “Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran” (HRDAI) eight prisoners were hanged in the Rajaei Shahr prison of Karaj (west of Tehran) on Tuesday April 25. The report identified these prisoners as “Mohammad Shafi Heydari (33 year old, Afghan citizen), Hossein Bagheri (20), Mohammad Rezaei (60), Mohammad Jafghaei (42), Yadollah Kabiri (50), Abbas Beigi (38), Abolghasem Pourhasan (37) and Alireza Shokohi-Manesh (37). The charges were not mentioned in the report.

AUTHOR: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
URL: http://iranhr.net/
E-MAIL: amirymoghaddam [at] gmail.com

According to the official website of the Iranian judiciary, the eight prisoners were all convicted of drug-related charges. According to some reports the executions took place yesterday, Sunday April 15.

None of the prisoners were identified by name.

According to another report by the state run Iranian news agency Fars, tens of drug-convicted prisoners are scheduled to be executed in the northwestern province of Ardebil. The report which was quoting the chief prosecutor of Ardebil, Gholamali Rezaei, said: “85 (alleged) drug traffickers were sentenced to death in the province of Ardebil last year (20. March 2011 to 20. March 2012)”. He continued:”Some of the 85 prisoners sentenced to death, were executed last year, and the rest of them will be executed during this year”.

According to the official Iranian reports 3 unidentified prisoners have been executed in the province of Ardebil in 2011.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights strongly condemned the executions and urged the international community to react to Iranian regime’s indiscriminate execution of propel under the pretext of fighting the drug trafficking. He said: “Unfortunately the international community does not react strongly enough to the execution of alleged drug traffickers”. Amiry-Moghaddam added: “We know that many of those executed for drug trafficking are among the weakest members of the Iranian society and are just being easy targets for the Iranian authority’s execution machine that is meant to spread terror among the people”.

According to IHR’s annual report on the death penalty in 2011 in Iran, more than 80% of those executed in Iran are charged with drug-related crimes, but only 9% of those officially executed for such charges are identified by their full names.

AUTHOR: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
URL: http://iranhr.net/
E-MAIL: amirymoghaddam [at] gmail.com

Three prisoners were executed in Shehr-e-Kord (western Iran) this morning

According to the Young Joyrnalist’s Club (associated with the Iranian state broadcasting) three prisoners were executed in the central prison of Shahr-e-Kord early this morning April 10. According to the report the prisoners who were not identified by name, were convicted of drug-related crimes.

One of the prisoners was convicted of carrying 400 grams of crack, 22 grams of “shisheh” (synthetic heroin) and 14 grams of hashish, and had in addition confessed to selling one kilogram of heroin, said the report. The two other prisoners were convicted of participation in keeping 3 kilos and 102 grams of heroin, crack and shisheh, and participation in keeping 2 kilos and 783 grams of the same substances, respectively.

Two prisoners were hanged in Tabas (eastern Iran) today

According to the state run Iranian news agency ISNA, two prisoners were hanged in the prison of Tabas (eastern Iran) this morning April 10. According to the report the prisoners were identified as “A. H.” (45 year-old) charged with participation in carrying 1380 kilos of opium, 498 kilos of morphine, and keeping and carrying 190 kilos of opium, and “M. M.” (30 year-old) charged with carrying 30 kilos of heroin, said the report.

Five prisoners were hanged in Kerman province (southeastern Iran)

According to the official website of the Iranian judiciary in Kerman, five prieoners were hanged in the cities of Bam and Kerman yesterday April 9. None of the prisoners were identified by name and no further details were given in the report.

According to IHR’s annual report on the death penalty in 2011 in Iran, more than 676 people were executed in 2011 in this country. According to this report more than 80% of those executed were charged with drug-related offences and tried behind closed doors by the revolutionary courts. IHR has received several reports of forced confessions in such cases.

AUTHOR: Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam
URL: http://iranhr.net/
E-MAIL: amirymoghaddam [at] gmail.com