As the wave of executions increases in Iran, there is tension in prisons and the sixth day of gatherings of concerned families

HRANA News Agency – Executions in Iran, especially those of prisoners convicted of drug offenses, have increased significantly since June of this year. Given the lack of information from the judicial system regarding the reasons for the numerous weekly executions in Iran, a wave of anger and concern has been unleashed among prisoners and their families. In recent days, families of prisoners have spontaneously organized a series of gatherings in various cities, including Tehran and Karaj, in an unprecedented move. Despite the peaceful nature of these gatherings, a number of people present were arrested by law enforcement forces.

According to HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists' Association in Iran, with the jump in executions to 99 people in June, which is about 4 times the previous month, and then the continuation of the high number of executions in the following months, an atmosphere of intense fear and terror has prevailed in prisons, especially in places where prisoners sentenced to death are held.

Iran's prisons, which have a poor record in terms of management and security of the prisoner environment, have been exposed to incidents due to the prevailing atmosphere of fear and intimidation. HRANA has received numerous calls from prisoners' families confirming this unprecedented issue.

Unlike the execution of death sentences by Qisas, which requires the consent of the deceased's family to carry out the sentence, half of the executions carried out in this short period were of drug-related convicts. This alone shows that the large number of executions are based on decisions made by various judicial and security departments.

Families concerned about the fate of their children have held a series of unprecedented rallies in various cities, including Tehran and Karaj. The rallies, which have continued for six days, were violently broken up by law enforcement yesterday.

The police attacked the aforementioned gatherings while the attendees were peacefully protesting and demanding an end to this process.

Police arrested at least 30 people at yesterday's rally, and as of the time of writing, 8 of them are still in custody.

Judicial authorities have so far not provided any clarity regarding these executions, with only about a third of these executions reported by official institutions or media.

Of the total 306 executions reported from the beginning of 1401 to 20 Shahrivar 1401, 267 were men, 9 were women, and 30 were of unknown gender. Of these individuals, 4 were under 18 years of age at the time of arrest, 1 was a Pakistani national, and 8 were Afghan nationals.
151 of the executions were carried out under the title of qisas, 130 were executions of sentences related to those convicted of drug crimes, 12 were for rape, 2 were for security reasons, and the charges against 11 others are unknown.
The provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan with 56 executions, Alborz with 55, and Fars with 28 executions were the leaders in the execution of death sentences during this period.

During this period, 42 other people have also been sentenced to death.

The wife of a prisoner sentenced to death in Karaj Central Prison told HRANA in this regard: “The number of executions has increased in the last few weeks. Both my wife and other prisoners are worried and afraid of the imminent execution, and we are also worried about the execution of my wife’s sentence. We were waiting for the sentence to be overturned, but with the process that has been taken, my children may become orphans. What is the reason for the speeding up of the executions? All of them were in prison and did not escape anywhere.”

A prisoner who was sent on leave from Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj in recent days said about the atmosphere of executions: “Everyone is worried, but most of all, prisoners under state death sentence, which includes drug prisoners, are worried about the possibility of their sentences being carried out. Many of them have resorted to selling drugs out of poverty and deprivation. If they can improve the economic situation, why does their power only reach retailers?”

According to the head of the country's Prisons, Security and Educational Measures Organization, 45 percent of the country's prisoners are involved in drug abuse.

In June of this year, HRANA published a report comparing the executions of death sentences in Iran in June with the statistics of executions in the previous month and the same period in the previous year.

The execution of the death penalty, including for drug-related crimes and other acts that are not defined as "serious crimes" under international law, has previously been criticized and protested by human rights organizations and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran.

The continuation of executions in the summer of 1401 comes at a time when Jafari Dolatabadi, the former prosecutor of Tehran, announced in 2017 a reform of the law on combating drug crimes and promised to reduce the issuance and execution of death sentences. Although, according to statistics published annually by the Statistics Center of the Human Rights Activists Association in Iran, the execution of death sentences for drug-related crimes has been declining, its continuation and the execution of at least 130 cases in less than six months indicate a worrying situation.

According to the annual report of the Center for Statistics, Publications and Works of the Human Rights Activists' Association in Iran, at least 299 citizens were executed and 85 others were sentenced to death between January 1, 2021 and December 20, 2021. Among those executed, four child criminals were executed.

According to the same report, more than 88 percent of executions carried out in Iran are not reported by the government or judicial institutions, which human rights organizations call "secret" executions.

Source: HRANA