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Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Mass execution in Iran (file photo)
Mass execution in Iran (file photo)
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of Iran, has confirmed the execution of 20 Sunni prisoners at Karaj's Rajai Shahr Prison on Tuesday August 2.

Iran Human Rights (AUG 3 2016): In an exclusive interview with Iranian state run media IRIB, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of Iran, said 20 Sunni prisoners were executed at Karaj's Rajai Shahr Prison (west of Tehran) on Tuesday August 2, but he did not mention their identities. Earlier, the Judiciary in the Kurdistan province had issued a statement about the execution of a "group of convicts" for membership in "Sunni militant groups". The statement did not mention the number of executions or the identities of the prisoners. Iran Human Rights is further investigating these executions and will be publishing an updated report.

On Tuesday August 2, Iran Human Rights had reported on the execution of at least ten Sunni prisoners at Rajai Shahr Prison; including Shahram Ahmadi, Khaled Maleki, Mokhtar Rahimi, Bahman Rahimi, Kaveh Veisi, and Kaveh Sharifi. On Monday August 31, the ward where the men were being held was raided by special guards in black gear and the prisoners were placed under strict security measures. According to close sources, the Iranian forces handcuffed and shackled the feet of around 30 Sunni minority prisoners and transferred them to an unknown location. A confirmed source tells Iran Human Rights: "They took a total of 36 people out from Hall 10, and seven of them have only been sentenced to death in the lower court. Their cases are still in review at the Supreme Court."

According to close sources, the family members of several of the prisoners were informed by Iranian authorities to come in for their final visit on Tuesday August 2 at 3pm Tehran time. "More than 20 families were told to come to Rajai Shahr Prison, and we're currently on our way there," the wife of one of the prisoners told Iran Human Rights. She insisted her husband was innocent and deserved a fair and open trial. While the families were on their way to the prison, they reportedly received phone calls from unidentified sources telling them to meet at Behesht e Zahra cemetery instead for the funeral of their family members.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns the execution of the Sunni prisoners and calls for international condemnation of these executions. �Many if not all of these prisoners were subjected to unfair trials and sentenced to death based on confessions extracted under torture. Their execution is a crime, and Iran�s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the other leaders of the Islamic Republic must be held accountable for these crimes," says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson for Iran Human Rights.

Source: Iran Human Rights, August 3, 2016

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." - Oscar Wilde

Iranian Official Confirms Execution of 20 Sunni Prisoners

Student Hassan Afshar is first child offender executed in country this year

Concerns that �rape� offence may in reality have been consensual gay sex

Amnesty International has revealed that a teenager has been executed in Iran after being convicted of the rape of another boy, the first confirmed execution of a child offender in Iran this year.

Amnesty, which has been carrying out extensive research into the situation of child offenders on death row in Iran, found that Hassan Afshar, 19, was hanged in Arak�s Prison in Markazi Province on 18 July, after being convicted of �lavat-e be onf� (forced male-to-male anal intercourse) in early 2015. 

The execution went ahead even though Iran�s Office of the Head of the Judiciary had promised his family that they�d review the case on 15 September. Iran�s Supreme Court initially overturned the sentence due to incomplete investigations but ultimately upheld it in March.

Last year Iran carried out at least four executions of those who�d been convicted of offences they were accused of committing while aged below 18. For the 160 child offenders who remain on death row in Iran, news of Afshar�s execution will come as a terrifying blow, said Amnesty. 

Just days after Afshar�s execution, the authorities also scheduled the execution of Alireza Tajiki, another child offender. His execution had been due to take place yesterday, but was postponed following public pressure.

Hassan Afshar was arrested in December 2014 after the authorities received a complaint accusing him and two other youths of forcing a teenage boy to have sexual intercourse with them. Afshar maintained that the sexual acts were consensual and that the complainant�s son had willingly engaged in same-sex sexual activities before.

In Iran, men and boys who engage in same-sex anal intercourse face different punishments under Iranian criminal law depending on whether they�re the �active� or �passive� partners and whether their conduct is characterised as consensual or non-consensual.

If deemed consensual the �passive� partner faces a death sentence. The �active� partner, however, is sentenced to death only if he is married or if he is not a Muslim and the �passive� partner is a Muslim. If the intercourse is deemed non-consensual, the �active� partner receives the death penalty but the �passive� partner is exempted from punishment and treated as a victim.

This legal framework risks creating a situation where a willing �passive� partner of anal intercourse may feel compelled, when targeted by the authorities, to characterise their consensual sexual activity as rape in order to avoid the death penalty.

While the authorities must always investigate allegations of rape and prosecute those responsible in fair trials, rape does not fall into the category of offences for which the death penalty can be imposed under international law. Furthermore, the criminalisation of same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults violates international human rights law.

Amnesty International�s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director at Magdalena Mughrabi said:

�Iran has proved that its sickening enthusiasm for putting juveniles to death, in contravention of international law, knows no bounds.

�Hassan Afshar was a 17-year-old high school student when he was arrested. He had no access to a lawyer and the judiciary rushed through the investigation and prosecution, convicting and sentencing him to death within two months of his arrest as though they could not execute him quickly enough.�

Background

International law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Iran is a state party, absolutely prohibits the use of death penalty for crimes committed when the defendant was below 18 years of age. It also restricts the application of the death penalty to the �most serious crimes�, which refers to intentional killing. Amnesty opposes the death penalty unconditionally, for all cases and under any circumstances.

Source: Amnesty International, August 3, 2016

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." - Oscar Wilde

Iran hangs teenage student in first child offender execution of the year

At least 52 youths under the age of 32 are awaiting the implementation of their execution sentences in Greater Tehran Prison (Fashafouyeh Prison), according to reports from the prison.

Among these death-row inmates, 32 are imprisoned in Section 1 and another 20 are incarcerated in Section 2 of the prison.

According to informed sources, over 100 death-row prisoners in Unit 2 of Ghezel-Hesar Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran, who engaged in a series of strikes and rioting have been transferred to Fashafouyeh Prison.

Source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, August 2, 2016

A Former Police Officer Executed in Mashhad


Reza Sabzevari, 32, former policeman from Neyshabur was executed in Mashhad prison on July 27. His family was informed to attend the last meeting in Mashhad prison 1 day before. Mr. Sabzevari was married and had 2 children, 10 and 2 1/2.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Reza Sabzevari, 32, former policeman from Neyshabur was executed in Mashhad prison.

Mr. Sabzevari was an officer of Department of Fighting Drugs and has been imprisoned since 1 year and a half ago.

There is no information about his charges.

According to informed sources his family has been told in a phone call to go to Mashhad Prison to visit Mr. Sabzevari for the last time.

Source: HRANA News Agency, August 2, 2016

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." - Oscar Wilde

Iran: Former police officer executed in Mashhad; 52 youths awaiting execution in Tehran Prison

Public hanging in Iran (file photo)
Iran Human Rights (AUG 2 2016): At least 10 Sunni prisoners were executed at Rajai Shahr Prion of Karaj (west of Tehran) early morning on Tuesday August 2. 

Among these prisoners is Shahram Ahmadi, who was sentenced to death in an unfair trial that lasted only a few minutes. Other prisoners who were executed this morning include Khaled Maleki, Mokhtar Rahimi, Bahman Rahimi, Kaveh Veisi, and Kaveh Sharifi.

Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns the execution of the Sunni prisoners and calls for international condemnation of these executions. �Many if not all of these prisoners were subjected to unfair trials and sentenced to death based on confessions extracted under torture. Their execution is a crime, and Iran�s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the Islamic Republic must be held accountable for these crimes," says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson for Iran Human Rights.

In an unusual move, on Monday August 31, the ward where the men were being held was raided by special guards in black gear and the prisoners were placed under strict security measures. According to close sources, the Iranian forces handcuffed and shackled the feet of around 30 Sunni minority prisoners and transferred them to an unknown location.

A confirmed source tells Iran Human Rights: "They took a total of 36 people out from Hall 10, and seven of them have only been sentenced to death in the lower court and their cases are still in review at the Supreme Court."

According to close sources, the family members of several of the prisoners were informed by Iranian authorities to come in for their final visit on Tuesday August 2 at 3pm Tehran time. "More than 20 families were informed to visit Rajai Shahr Prison, and we're currently on our way there," the wife of one of the prisoners tells Iran Human Rights. She insists her husband is innocent and deserves a fair and open trial. While the families were on their way to the prison, they reportedly received phone calls from unidentified sources telling them to meet at �Behesht e Zahra� cemetery instead for the funeral of their family members.

Some unconfirmed reports say that up to 21 prisoners may have been executed this morning. IHR is investigating further details about these reports.

Source: Iran Human Rights, August 2, 2016


'You're too late' �families not allowed to say goodbye before mass execution in Iran � The Express


The following is a report published by Britain's Express about the brutal massacre of Sunni prisoners in Iran today:

The Express

'You're too late' Heartbreak of families who miss final goodbye before mass execution

FAMILIES preparing to say a final farewell ahead of a mass execution were told they were too late and their loved ones were already dead by prison officials.

Relatives of prisoners were told this morning to visit one last time but when they arrived they were told the inmates had already been hanged.

Instead of saying goodbye, the families were told to go to the morgue to collect the bodies.

The mass execution took place at Gohardasht Prison in Iran this morning, with at least 20 Sunni inmates hanged.

Gohardasht Prison has declared a state of emergency and it's believed the execution was brought forward in order to avoid protests.

The mass execution has been slammed by the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), who are fighting for more human rights in the Islamic Republic.

Shahin Gobadi, of the NCRI Foreign Affairs Committee, said: "There's a long precedent by the regime in first executing prisoners and then informing their families.

"One explanation for this is that the regime is afraid of a public backlash and protests outside the prison by the families to halt the executions.

"It is particularly cruel as none of the mothers and fathers managed to say goodbye to their loved ones."

Some of the bodies were hastily buried in the Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery.

The prisoners had been moved by security forces hours earlier with reports of inmates hands and feet being chained and their mouths taped shut and heads covered with bags.

It's believed they were moved to an undisclosed location ahead of the mass execution.

Prison authorities cut off the building's phone lines and put inmates not on death row on lockdown during the killings.

Maryam Rajavi the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, said the execution was "an appalling crime against humanity."

The hangings come during the 28th anniversary of the 1988 executions which thousands of prisoners executed in a series of state-sanctioned killings over a five month period.

Shahram Ahmadi is among the Sunni prisoners executed.

The original article can be found here.

Source: NCRI, August 2, 2016


Maryam Rajavi the Iranian Resistance's President-elect, said the execution was "an appalling crime against humanity."


Maryam Rajavi called the execution of a large number of Sunni prisoners in Gohardasht Prison, "an appalling crime against humanity." The Iranian Resistance's President-elect extended her sincere condolences to the families of the victims, the Sunni community and all the people of Iran. She called on Iranian youths to stage protests against such barbaric crimes and to rise up in support of and in solidarity with the families of the victims.

She also urged Shiite and Sunni clergies around the world to not remain silent vis-�-vis this major atrocity and denounce Ali Khamenei, the great enemy of the people of Iran and the region, for his anti-human and anti-Islamic crimes.

Maryam Rajavi added: The mullahs' anti-human regime carried out the mass execution of our Sunni brothers on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran. They are trying in vain to contain the volatile social atmosphere and popular protests by terrorizing the public.

The NCRI President-elect pointed out: The 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran is the biggest crime of its kind since World War II. The clerical regime's crimes systematically committed over the past 37 years are all examples of crime against humanity, war crimes or genocide. And how the international community reacts to these crimes is its great test.

The time has come for the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to end their silence and bring the record of the Iranian regime's crimes before the International Criminal Court. Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the regime as well as direct perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice, Maryam Rajavi reiterated.

A large number of Sunni prisoners were hanged this morning, Tuesday, August 2, 2016, at Gohardasht Prison, in Karaj. According to the victims' families, at least 20 have been executed. Prison authorities declared a state of emergency, disconnected all telephone booths and prevented prisoners from referring to the prison's dispensary.

The regime's Judiciary had told the families of prisoners that they had time until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon to go to prison for a final visit with their children. However, before they arrived, the Ministry of Intelligence contacted the families and said they should go to the Coroner's of Kahrizak to receive the bodies of their children.

Shahram Ahmadi is among the Sunni prisoners executed. He was wounded in April 2009 at the time of arrest by Intelligence agents and lost one kidney and part of his intestine. He was badly tortured for 43 months in solitary confinement in the Intelligence Department's detention center in Sanandaj, as a result of which he contracted various illnesses and lost his hearing to a large extent. In October 2012, the mullahs' Judiciary sentenced him to death on the alleged charge of Moharebeh, or waging war on God. His younger brother, Bahram Ahmadi who was under 18 years old at the time of arrest, was executed in Ghezel Hessar Prison in January 2012 along with five other Sunni political prisoners.

Source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, August 2, 2016

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." - Oscar Wilde

Iran: At Least 10 Sunni Prisoners Hanged

Iran has a bloodstained record of sending juvenile offenders to the gallows.
Iran's bloodstained record of sending juvenile offenders to the gallows, routinely
after grossly unfair trials, makes an absolute mockery of juvenile justice.
The Iranian regime plans to hang a teenager later this week for a crime he allegedly committed at the age of 15.

Alireza Tajiki, now 19 years old, was sentenced to death in April 2013 after a conviction by the regime's criminal court in Fars Province, southern Iran.

His family have told international media outlets that the regime plans to execute him on Wednesday, August 3. They say have been informed by the authorities in Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, southern Iran, that they should go visit him for a final time this week prior to his execution.

The mullahs' regime had previously announced that it planned to hang Mr. Tajiki on May 15 in Adel Abad Prison. That execution was postponed due to international pressure.

Amnesty International said at the time that the Iranian regime must urgently halt the execution.

The human rights group said his conviction was primarily on the basis of "'confessions' extracted through torture which he repeatedly retracted in court."

"Imposing the death penalty on someone who was a child at the time of the crime flies in the face of international human rights law, which absolutely prohibits the use of the death penalty for crimes committed under the age of 18. It is particularly horrendous that the Iranian authorities are adamant to proceed with the execution when this case was marked by serious fair trial concerns and primarily relied on torture-tainted evidence," said James Lynch, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.

"Iran's bloodstained record of sending juvenile offenders to the gallows, routinely after grossly unfair trials, makes an absolute mockery of juvenile justice and shamelessly betrays the commitments Iran has made to children's rights. The Iranian authorities must immediately halt this execution and grant Alireza Tajiki a fair retrial where the death penalty and coerced 'confessions' play no part," he added.

In its May 12 statement, Amnesty said: "More than 970 people were put to death across Iran last year. In January 2016 Amnesty International published a report which found that despite piecemeal reforms introduced by the Iranian authorities in 2013 to deflect criticism of their appalling record on executions of juvenile offenders, they have continued to condemn dozens of young people to death for crimes committed when they were below 18, in violation of their international human rights obligations."

Source: NCR-Iran, July 31, 2016


Iran: Call off execution of teenage prisoner

Alireza Tajiki was 15 years old at the time of arrest

The Iranian Resistance calls on international human rights organizations to take urgent action and demand the cancellation of the scheduled execution of Alireza Tajiki who was only 15 years old at the time of arrest.

Repeated appeals by the family of Alireza Tajiki for revision of his case have been rejected by the mullahs' judiciary. The young prisoner has been in jail since 2012 and is going to be executed on Wednesday, August 3, 2016, in Adelabad Prison of Shiraz.

Despite his age, Alireza Tajiki was denied access to a lawyer throughout the investigation process and was tortured under interrogation to make false confessions, a routine practice in Iranian jails.

In a statement on the pending execution of Alireza Tajiki, Amnesty International wrote: �Imposing the death penalty on someone who was a child at the time of the crime flies in the face of international human rights law� It is particularly horrendous that the Iranian authorities are adamant to proceed with the execution when this case was marked by serious fair trial concerns and primarily relied on torture-tainted evidence� Iran�s bloodstained record of sending juvenile offenders to the gallows, routinely after grossly unfair trials, makes an absolute mockery of juvenile justice and shamelessly betrays the commitments Iran has made to children�s rights.�

Fifty-five executions have been registered between July 11 and 27 in Iran. This is but a small part of the wave of executions taking place throughout the country. Many executions are carried out secretly and their news do not leak out.

Source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, August 1, 2016

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." - Oscar Wilde

Iran regime plans to hang teenager for crime committed at age 15