The Iranian government has launched a new wave of executions that is unprecedented and alarming in its intensity. Within just a three-day period, at least 20 prisoners were executed in various prisons across the country. This equates to an average of four executions per day—or one person losing their life to the gallows every four hours.
Executions in Four Prisons: Hamedan, Arak, Rasht, and Gorgan
In the early days of April, four prisoners were hanged in four different prisons across Iran:
- Akbar Sheikhi, 25 years old from Hamedan, was executed in Hamedan prison on drug-related charges.
- Reza Tabarteh Farahani, from Arak, was executed in Arak prison on charges of rape.
- Mehdi Fathollahpour, from Abyek in Qazvin province, died in Lakan prison in Rasht due to drug-related charges.
- Hossein Bahari, 34 years old from Gorgan, was executed in Gorgan prison for murder.
Qezel Hesar, Yazd, Khorramabad, and Yasuj: Centers of Death Sentences
In Qezel Hesar prison in Karaj, at least seven inmates were executed, many of whom had been convicted of drug offenses or moharebeh (enmity against God). Among them were Emanollah Barahouei, Mohammad Ali Naseri, and Akbar Mousavi.
In Yazd prison, four inmates—including Vahid Narouei and Yaroli Mahmoudvand—were executed on drug-related charges. In Khorramabad prison, Saeed Derikvand was executed for murder.
Perhaps the most tragic part of this report concerns the execution of two youths from Bandar Abbas. Behnam Bargpoosh, who was arrested at the age of 13 and executed at 19, and Mohammad Ahmadzadeh, who was arrested at 18 and executed at 24. This act is a clear violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
