Human rights media outlets report the execution of five prisoners, including an Afghan national, at Ghezel Hesar and Jiroft prisons in the early hours of Wednesday, October 30.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRAHA), among the four prisoners executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, two were sentenced to death on drug-related charges, and the other two for “enmity against God through armed robbery.”
The Iran Human Rights Organization previously reported that at least eight prisoners sentenced to death in Ghezel Hesar Prison had been moved to solitary confinement as of Monday, October 28, and their families had been called to the prison for a final visit.
The execution of prisoners convicted on drug-related charges in Iran has sharply and consistently increased over the past four years, with execution statistics for 2023 showing an 84% rise compared to the previous year.
A prisoner convicted of “premeditated murder” was also executed on Wednesday, October 30, in Jiroft Prison, Kerman Province.
According to human rights media, in recent days at least five other prisoners were executed on charges such as “premeditated murder” in Zanjan, Isfahan, Karaj, and Ahvaz.
Meanwhile, coinciding with the 40th week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign, a group of families of death-row inmates gathered in front of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) on Tuesday, October 29.
In the published videos, the demonstrators, mostly women, chanted “Don’t execute!” demanding a halt to executions.
According to Amnesty International, the Iranian regime was responsible for 74% of recorded executions worldwide last year.
