Oral statement on the increasing trend of executions in the Islamic Republic of Iran (GD Item 8) : www.iranhrc.org
Sudwind is very concerned about the increasing trend of executions in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In recent years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has had the second highest execution rate in the world. According to official sources, since the beginning of 2013, 138 prisoners who were sentenced to death have been executed. 39 of these executions were in public. In addition to this, unofficial sources confirm that at least 120 more executions occurred, including at Vakilabad prison in Mashhad, during January and February. The latter figure is a significant underestimate. In recent months at least one juvenile execution has been reported at Tabriz prison. In the new criminal law of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which came into effect on the 27th of May 2013, the punishment of stoning has been reaffirmed. According to the latest news, Mrs Khadijeh Pour Mohammad Alizadeh and Mr Mohammad Reza Jamali, a couple in Tabriz prison, have been sentenced to stoning. Khadijeh Pourmohammad Alizadeh had a miscarriage in prison and it is said that this was as a result of both psychological and physical torture. As the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran has declared in his several reports, the physical and psychological torture of prisoners in all prisons of Iran is very common. This has in several cases caused the death of prisoners. One of the latest well known cases was the death of the young blogger Sattar Beheshti. The case of Arash Sadeghi is also very concerning. He was a student activist for the election campaign of Mir Hossein Mousavi, one of the candidates in the fraudulent election of 2009. Arash has been in solitary confinement since the time of his last arrest in January 2012 and has had fresh wounds and bruises whenever he has been seen in recent months. Arash’s mother died in 2010, shortly after one of his several arrests. The shock she experienced at the brutality of the authorities toward Arash caused her to suffer a heart attack. The Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the life and health of all prisoners, including Arash Sadeghi who is on hunger strike in protest against the physical tortures he receives.
