The Islamic Republic’s authorities executed at least eleven people on Wednesday in Ghezelhesar Prison near Tehran, human rights sources reported.
Five of the prisoners were convicted of murder, while four were sentenced to death on drug-related charges.
The five executed prisoners have been identified as Ahmad Jahan Khani, Nasser Tokhchi, Iman Moghadam, Rahman Sarlak, and Abdullah Tajik.
Jahan Khani and four others were convicted of murder, while Tokhchi, Moghadam, Sarlak, and Tajik were sentenced to death for drug-related offenses, according to the HRANA news agency.
Abdullah Tajik was identified as an Afghan national.
The prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions on December 9.
At least 166 people were executed in October, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization.
This marks the highest number of executions in a single month since the organization began documenting them 17 years ago.
According to Amnesty International’s report, Iran has reached its highest level of executions in the past eight years, with the judiciary of the Islamic Republic executing 853 people in 2023 alone.
The report indicates that 481 executions – more than half of the total – were related to drug crimes. This represents an 89 per cent increase in death penalties for drug-related offenses compared to 2022, when 255 people were executed.
Source » iranwire