[Deathpenalty] death penalty news---worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Dec. 4


CHINA:

China to Stop Using Organs From Executed Prisoners----But new supply may be 
hard to find


China says that on Jan. 1, in response to human rights concerns, it will cease 
transplanting organs taken from executed prisoners, although uncertainties 
linger over where a replacement supply will come from, state media reported 
today. China had previously said it would phase out the practice by sometime in 
early 2015. But state media reports announced the 1st firm date for ending the 
practice, citing the architect of China's transplant system, Huang Jiefu.

International human rights activists and domestic critics have long said that 
standard safeguards were ignored when obtaining organs from prisoners who may 
have been pressured to donate. However, China has one of the world's lowest 
levels of organ donation because of ingrained cultural attitudes and a legal 
requirement that family members give consent before organs are donated, even if 
a person had expressed a desire to donate. China executes thousands of people a 
year, more than the rest of the world put together???but it recently phased out 
the death penalty for crimes such as pimping and counterfeiting.

(source: newser.com)






INDONESIA:

Bali drug convicts safe for now


The executions of 5 drug convicts in Indonesia this month will reportedly not 
include 2 Australians being held in Bali.

More than 60 people are sitting on death row in Indonesian prisons, but only 5 
people have exhausted their legal appeals.

"They will be executed after a letter from the attorney-general is signed by 
the president," the co-ordinating minister for political, legal and security 
affairs, Tedjo Edi Purdjianto, said.

Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, members of the Bali 9, have had a 
clemency request before the president for more than 2 years.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been contacted seeking further 
information.However, the Jakarta Globe quoted Basuni Masyarif, Indonesia's 
deputy attorney-general for general crimes, as saying 2 of the 5 prisoners to 
be executed before the end of the year are Nigerians.

He said all 5 were in prisons away from Bali - ruling out Chan and Sukumaran, 
who are being held in the island's Kerobokan jail.

Basuni also told the Globe the government will execute at least 10 prisoners 
each year, to reduce the backlog of people who have been handed the death 
penalty.

(source: Sky News)

****************

Nusron's top priority: Migrant workers on death row


The new head of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian 
Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Nusron Wahid, will have quite a handful of 
challenges after taking over for Gatot Abdullah Mansyur.

Inaugurated by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo last Thursday, Nusron now 
shoulders the burden of keeping Jokowi's promise of prioritizing the protection 
of migrant workers, while overcoming criticism that the agency is not doing 
enough to tackle the exploitation of our "foreign-exchange heroes".

Nusron, leader of the Ansor Youth Movement (GP Ansor), the youth wing of 
Indonesia???s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), is a Golkar 
Party politician who was removed from his post on a key commission in the House 
of Representatives, allegedly for openly endorsing Jokowi and his running mate, 
Jusuf Kalla, who is also a senior Golkar politician.

Regarding Nusron's appointment, Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto cited his 
role in Jokowi's presidential election campaign in addition to his concern for 
migrant workers' protection. Reports on the exploitation and abuse of migrant 
workers were taken seriously by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who 
issued directives in 2011 to better protect their rights.

These included the imposition of a moratorium on sending workers to Saudi 
Arabia and the issuance of Presidential Decree No.17/2011 that established a 
task force to protect migrant workers under the threat of the death penalty. 
Indonesian missions abroad formed special teams tasked with, among other 
assignments, regularly visiting prisons and providing legal assistance to 
Indonesian nationals facing legal problems.

The directives were issued following the case of Ruyati binti Satubi, a 
54-year-old migrant worker who in June 2011 was beheaded for allegedly killing 
her Saudi employer. The case triggered public anger after the government said 
it only found out about the case after the execution.

Critics maintain that protection measures need to be beefed up to end the 
exploitation of Indonesian workers. Anis Hidayah who leads the Migrant Care NGO 
said a task force to protect migrant workers from death penalty threats was 
only an ad hoc measure.

"This is also very wasteful because the task force???s main duties - such as 
identifying problems of migrant workers facing the death penalty and advocating 
and providing legal aid to workers undergoing the legal process or facing the 
death penalty - could have been handled by an Indonesian representative 
overseas," she told The Jakarta Post.

Concerns about the plight of migrant workers were raised by the human rights 
group, Amnesty International in September, which urged the government to 
pressure the Saudi Arabian government to lighten the sentence handed down to 
Siti Zainab binti Duhri Rupa, who is on death row for allegedly stabbing her 
employer to death in 1999.

At the top of Nusron's to-do list will be addressing death penalty threats 
currently facing some 280 migrant workers, despite the government's efforts to 
protect their rights.

Ongoing reports on discrimination, exploitation and abuse of migrant workers 
also highlighted disgraceful practices of recruitment, despite Law No.39/2004 
on the placement of migrant workers and the ratification of the 1990 UN 
Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families in May 2012.

The exploitation has persisted even as migrant workers continue to be a boon to 
their home countries. Last year, overseas remittances by some 6.5 million 
Indonesian migrant workers totaled Rp 88.6 trillion (US$7.26 billion) from 
January to December.

The law itself, said the NGO Solidaritas Perempuan (Women's Solidarity), was 
aimed primarily at regulating the dispatch of migrant workers by placement 
agencies rather than establishing a standard mechanism to ensure worker and 
employer rights and responsibilities.

Of 108 total articles in the law, only 4 regulate migrant workers' protection. 
Many critical roles played by the state - such as worker recruitment - are 
handed over to private companies. This has allowed scalpers to flourish; 
consequently, Indonesian migrant workers are seen as economic commodities 
rather than as Indonesian citizens and human beings entitled to state 
protection.

In 2004, the draft revision of the law was included in the 2005 National 
Legislation Program (Prolegnas) list. It was included again in the 2009 list, 
but no progress was made. Discussions on the draft revision began only after 
the government ratified the Convention on Migrant Workers in 2012, during which 
Yudhoyono issued a Presidential Mandate appointing several ministries to work 
together with their counterparts at the House to discuss the law's revision - 
with no significant progress made.

Despite efforts by NGOs, the future of the draft revision remains uncertain 
following the dissension of the House into 2 groups - the Red-and-White 
Coalition and the other led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle 
(PDI-P). Until the division is settled, the President has banned Cabinet 
ministers and related officials from attending any meetings with House 
lawmakers.

Without serious efforts to ease the tension, the government will prove for 
umpteenth time its reluctance to seriously address the discrimination, 
exploitation and abuse of millions of migrant workers.

******************

Execute death row convicts: President


President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ordered on Thursday the execution of 5 death-row 
drug convicts this month, a move to uphold court rulings.

Jokowi summoned Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister 
Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno to a meeting to discuss the matter on Thursday.

Tedjo said it was not a unilateral decision by Jokowi, merely the President's 
instruction to implement the convicts' sentences.

"The President has ordered the relevant authorities to carry out the court 
verdicts. Those [sentences] which have legally binding rulings should be 
implemented," Tedjo said.

The government is now waiting for the newly inaugurated attorney general, HM 
Prasetyo, to complete the paperwork required for the death sentence on the 5 
convicts to be carried out.

Prasetyo recently announced that 20 other death-row inmates, the majority of 
whom are drug convicts, would face the firing squad in 2015.

Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration had been repeatedly 
criticized for its lenience toward drug trafficking. In February, for example, 
it granted parole to Schapelle Corby, a convicted Australian drug trafficker 
who had been sentenced to 20 years for attempting to smuggle 4.2 grams of 
marijuana through Bali???s Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Human rights watch dog Imparsial, however, has just recently reaffirmed its 
stance against the death penalty.

The most recent executions in Indonesia took place in 2013, when the Attorney 
General's Office took the lives of drug smuggler Adam Wilson in March, 3 
convicted murderers in Cilacap prison in May and a Pakistani drug smuggler in 
November.

Indonesia has 11 laws that carry the death sentence, including the Criminal 
Code, Law No. 12/1951 on firearm ownership, Law No. 11/PNPS 1963 on subversive 
activities, Law No. 5/1997 on drugs, Law No. 31/1999 on corruption eradication, 
Law No. 26/2000 on human rights courts, Law No. 23/2002 on children's 
protection and Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism. (++++)

(source for both: Jakarta Post)






SAUDI ARABIA----execution

Syrian is 75th person executed in Saudi Arabia this year


Saudi Arabia Wednesday executed a Syrian convicted of drug smuggling, bringing 
to 75 the number of locals and foreigners beheaded in the kingdom this year 
despite international concerns.

The sentence against Ridwan Awad Mohammed Awad was carried out in the city of 
Qurayyat near the border with Jordan, the interior ministry said.

He was caught trying to smuggle "a large amount" of amphetamine pills into the 
kingdom, added the statement on the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The interior ministry said this week that authorities had seized more than 41 
million amphetamine tablets during the Islamic calendar year that ended in 
October.

It also said nearly 1,600 Saudis and foreigners were arrested for drug-related 
crimes between February and September.

The oil-rich Gulf state saw the third highest number of executions in the world 
last year after Iran and Iraq, according to Amnesty International whose figures 
did not include China.

Rape, murder, apostasy and armed robbery are also punishable by death under the 
kingdom's strict version of Islamic sharia law.

In September, an independent expert working on behalf of the United Nations 
expressed concern about the judicial process in Saudi Arabia and called for an 
immediate moratorium on the death penalty.

(source: The Daily Star)



EGYPT:

Rights groups slam Egypt over new mass death sentence----Amnesty International 
and Human Rights Watch lash out at Egypt after a Cairo court sentenced 188 
supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to death Tuesday

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International slammed Egypt Wednesday over the 
mass death sentencing of 188 Islamists days after murder charges were dropped 
against former President Hosni Mubarak.

A Cairo court sentenced 188 supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed 
Morsi to death Tuesday over the killing of 13 policemen in a village on the 
outskirts of Cairo on 14 August 2013.

The defendants were found guilty of killing the officers in Kerdassa on the day 
security forces forcibly dispersed two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo in an 
operation that left hundreds of demonstrators dead.

"Mass death sentences are fast losing Egypt's judiciary whatever reputation for 
independence it once had," Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East and North 
Africa director, said in a statement.

"Instead of weighing the evidence against each person, judges are convicting 
defendants en masse without regard for fair trial standards."

Egyptian courts have sentenced hundreds of Morsi supporters to lengthy jail 
terms and many to death after speedy mass trials, which the United Nations 
called "unprecedented in recent history".

The government crackdown on Morsi supporters since the army ousted him on 3 
July last year has resulted in at least 1,400 people dead and thousands jailed.

Several leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, including Morsi, are themselves on 
trial in cases which carry the death penalty if convicted.

Amnesty International also lashed out at Tuesday's mass sentencing.

"It is quite telling that the sentencing... was handed down in the same week 
that the case against former president Hosni Mubarak was dropped," said Hassiba 
Hadj Sahrouai, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"This is blatantly a case of justice being meted out based on a political 
whim."

The European Union too shared its "serious concerns" over Tuesday's ruling, 
adding that it will follow such cases of mass death sentencing "very closely".

"The EU reiterates its call on the Egyptian judicial authorities to ensure, in 
line with international standards, the defendants' rights to a fair and timely 
trial based on clear charges and proper and independent investigations," 
Catherine Ray, spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said 
in a statement.

A Cairo court on Saturday dismissed murder and corruption charges against 
Mubarak and 7 aides in a case involving the deaths of some of the roughly 800 
demonstrators killed during the 2011 revolt that ended the veteran leader's 
3-decades-old rule.

The prosecution has filed an appeal against the Mubarak verdict.

(source: Middle East Eye)






PAKISTAN:

Families in Pakistan mourn drug mules beheaded in Saudi


Every morning, Haji Abdul Haq wakes up wondering whether his son has been 
beheaded. Not by the Taliban, al Qaeda or the Islamic State group, but by the 
Saudi Arabian government.

Haq's son is on death row in the kingdom, waiting for his name to be added to 
the growing roll of Pakistanis executed this year by the Saudis for heroin 
smuggling.

Saudi Arabia has meted out the gruesome fate to 74 people in 2014, 15 of them 
Pakistanis convicted of drug smuggling.

Families and rights campaigners complain their trials are opaque and unfair, 
and accuse the Pakistani government of doing nothing to help its citizens, 
afraid of offending an important and hugely wealthy ally.

Haq's son Mohammad Irfan, 27, awaits his death in the Saudi prison of al Ha'ir, 
thousands of miles from the orange groves and wheatfields of his native Punjab, 
where his father told AFP his story.

4 years ago, Haq said, 2 men came and said that for $2,000 they would get Irfan 
plane tickets and a visa for the Gulf - for many poor Pakistanis, a passport to 
a better life.

Irfan sold his rickshaw and wife's jewels and his tea-seller father made up the 
rest of the money.

The 2 men then took Irfan to Karachi - a key transit point for heroin from 
Afghanistan. But in Karachi, things turned sour, Haq says.

"The 2 men changed and told him they would kill him unless he did what they 
wanted," Haq told AFP.

"After that they forced capsules of heroin into his anus."

Irfan was put on a flight to Saudi Arabia by his new masters. On arrival in 
Riyadh he was stopped by customs officers and after a brisk trial, condemned to 
death.

Pakistan is full of stories about drug mules, but they are little discussed in 
public and get little sympathy.

One official told AFP that "in most of the cases the sentence or the punishment 
is justified."

Rights group Amnesty International says Saudi Arabia uses the death penalty 
disproportionately against foreigners, particularly those from South Asia. 
Since 1985 around 1/2 of 2,000 people executed in the kingdom have been 
foreigners.

The Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), a human rights law firm, has begun trying 
to get Islamabad to defend them.

"These prisoners are very poor men who have been sold a chance to escape and 
make something of their lives," Sohail Yafat, a JPP investigator, told AFP.

Almost 1/2 of Afghanistan's heroin production comes through Pakistan on its way 
to Europe and Asia.

But in recent years the Gulf has become an increasingly important market, 
according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Seizures of the drug in Saudi Arabia have exploded, from just one kilo (2.2 
lbs) a year in the early 2000s to 41 kilos in 2008 and 111 in 2011, according 
to data given by the Saudis to the UN.

In August and September alone, nearly 400 people, including nearly 300 
foreigners, were arrested for possessing or dealing heroin, according to the 
Saudi government.

Riyadh says it wants to protect Saudi society from the scourge of heroin, but 
rights groups are highly critical of its judicial system.

Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch says the absence of a penal code in 
Saudi Arabia makes it particularly arbitrary.

"There is no law that defines what is and is not a crime - it is really up to 
the judge to decide what is a crime and what level of evidence is required to 
establish that a crime occurred," she told AFP.

The prisoners and their families also criticise the government for sacrificing 
its own citizens for the sake of good relations with an ally.

Saudi Arabia supplies oil and financial aid to Pakistan, while Pakistan helps 
with military assistance, according to analysts.

"In the perspective of the government, the relations with Saudi Arabia are too 
important, too critical, to be sacrificed for individuals who, in the mind of 
the state, are responsible" for their acts, said analyst Ayesha Siddiqa.

Haji Abdul Haq has written to numerous Pakistani officials including Prime 
Minister Nawaz Sharif, urging them to lobby the Saudis on behalf of his son.

"The drugs mafia, it's like a tree - the Saudis are cutting the branches but 
the trunk and the roots are still there," said Haq, sitting with Irfan's 2 
daughters. One of the girls has never seen her father.

(source: The Express Tribune)






IRAN:

Public executions in Iran


When it comes to number of executions, Iran has the dubious distinction of 
being number 2 on the list of countries with highest number of death penalties, 
right after China, according to many online sources including the Guardian, 
http://www.theguardian.com/world/datablog/2014/mar/27/death-penalty-statistics-2013-by-country. 
Given the fact that the Chinese population is almost 18 times that of Iran's 
population, Iran succeeds China when it comes to the number of executions per 
million, which is currently about 8. As horrifying as it is, we often see 
shocking pictures of public executions in Iran showing people of all ages 
assembled in a public location as if they are attending a party and watching, 
many of them in dismay, a man or a woman being executed in an inhumane way. 
Guilty or not, even criminals deserve dignity and their execution should not be 
used as a means of intimidation and glorification of violence especially in the 
presence of children.

These pictures are reminiscent of "lynching" in the United States and remind me 
of how Iran has descended to early 19th century America in which lynching - 
"the practice of killing [black] people by extrajudicial mob action" - was 
mostly practiced. Since then, America has come a long way. Now, it has a black 
president.

I think the young Iranians are astonished at the way members of previous 
generation failed in their judgment when they voted the current regime into 
power and their lack of commitment to common good, and human rights and 
dignity. The future generations of Iranians will be embarrassed the same way 
the current Americans are embarrassed by the actions of their ancestors. We 
will also embarrass our children if we remain silent about injustice and lack 
of respect for human rights. We are tired of seeing our beloved country of Iran 
is being persistently portrayed by the images like this. Sharing them on 
virtual domain perhaps displease some people. However, if it wasn't for the 
information-sharing on social media, we would still have a theocratic 
dictatorship in Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan and many other countries.

There are many countries, including the United States, in which capital 
punishment is allowed by the legal system. However, it is reserved only for the 
most heinous crimes and as the lender of last resort and when such punishment 
fits the crime without a reasonable doubt. Plus, the death penalty should be 
carried out in the most dignifying and humane manner.

Basing the judicial system of a country on religious laws creates a huge 
quandary because concern for human rights and welfare is often undermined and 
sacrificed for dogmatic and obsolete beliefs. Such an approach should not have 
any place in the 21st century, that is renowned for its attention to human 
rights and life.

Just as there are no such things as Christian Mathematics, Jewish Computer 
Science, or Islamic Chemistry, there should not be such a thing as an Islamic 
justice system. In reality, any religious-based judicial system is nothing more 
than whimsical man-made impositions wrapped in religious sacredness. A modern 
judicial system should reflect the realities of the society and the time. 
Morality should be developed based on science and reason, not medieval values. 
And, if we are really concerned with human dignity, subjecting people, 
including criminals, to suffering, torture, public humiliation, and 
demoralization is not going to diminish the level of crime as indicated by 
yearly crime statistics in Iran. On the contrary, it breeds more crimes and 
violent acts.

(source: Reza Varjavand; iranian.com)

*******************

43 prisoners executed in 9 days


During the past 9 days at least 43 prisoners, including 2 women and a juvenile 
offender, have been hanged in Iran.

The surge in executions follows 2 developments with high potential for 
prompting public expressions of anger against the regime: firstly, the failure 
of Iran nuclear talks in reaching a comprehensive deal and secondly an increase 
of over 30 % in the price of bread, the main nourishment for the vast majority 
of Iranian people.

The majority of the 43 executions carried out between November 24 and December 
2 have been carried out in secret without public acknowledgement from the 
authorities.

On December 2, 11 prisoners were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in the city of 
Karaj. One of those executed was a woman and her husband as well as a citizen 
of Afghanistan. This was the 5th series of mass executions in recent weeks is 
this prison.

A large group of prisoners in Section 2 of the prison began a hunger strike on 
December 1 to protest against mass executions and to stop the execution of 
their cellmates. The prison chief threatened them, claiming that if they 
continue their protest, he will execute 200 people.

On the same day, December 2, 4 prisoners including one woman, in the central 
prison in the city of Orunieh and 3 other detainees in Bandar Abbas prison, 
were executed.

On November 28 two prisoners were executed in the cities of Ardabil and Qom.

On November 27, 3 prisoners were publicly executed in the cities of Mashhad and 
Jaghtay. The prisoner executed in Jaghtay - in Khorasan province - was a 
20-year-old young man who was executed despite receiving clemency from the 
family of the murdered victim.

On Wednesday November 26, 5 prisoners were executed together in Karaj 
Gohardasht prison, 2 prisoners including a 23 year old in Qazvin prison and 
another prisoner in Sari prison.

On November 25, a group of 10 prisoners were hanged in Karaj Ghezel Hesar 
prison.

On the same day, henchmen hanged Rahim Nourallah-Zadeh, a young prisoner who 
was only 14 years old at the time of his arrest, in Tabriz prison. At least 4 
other juvenile offenders have been executed in recent months in this prison. 
Fardin Jafarian, Ahad Akbari, Behnam Hakim Khani and Mohsen Moghadam were all 
less than 18 years old at the time of arrest.

On November 24, a prisoner was executed in the central prison in the city of 
Kashan.

Furthermore, in the 3rd week of November, in the city of Cheram in the province 
of Kohgilouye and Boyerahmad, state security forces flogged 4 people.

Silence and inaction by the international community against inhuman punishment 
and arbitrary mass executions in Iran has emboldened the ruling clerical 
dictatorship to continue with violations of human rights.

This regime must be rejected from the community of nations for its crimes 
against humanity and the dossier of its crimes must be referred to the United 
Nations Security Council and its leaders must be brought to justice.

(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)

******************************

Arabi death sentence under review


The Supreme Court of Iran is reviewing the death sentence issued for political 
prisoner Soheil Arabi, the judiciary has announced.

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, reported on 
Tuesday December 2 that there is no discussion of granting Arabi a pardon; 
however, a request to review his file has been granted.

On November 30, Nastraran Naimi, Arabi's wife gave an interview to Zamaneh, 
saying she had requested a review of her husband's sentence and was optimistic 
a review would change it.

Last December, Soheil Arabi was arrested for criticizing Iranian government 
policies on his Facebook page. He was later sentenced to death for the charge 
of "insulting the prophet and sanctities."

AmirSalar Davoudi, one of Arabi's lawyers, has also called for a review of his 
case and expressed every hope that a review will overturn the sentence.

(source: Radio Zamaneh)

****************************

No sign of pardon for Iran blogger sentenced to death


On Dec. 1, the deputy head of Iran's judiciary, Gholam Ali Mohseni Ejei, 
responded to a reporter's question about Soheil Arabi, who was sentenced to 
death for Facebook posts deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. Ejei said, 
"Currently, there is no pardon, and he's been convicted of 'corruption on 
Earth,' but there has been a request for his case to be reviewed again."

The deputy head of Iran's judiciary has said that there is no move to pardon 
blogger Soheil Arabi, sentenced to execution over Facebook comments, but there 
is a request to review his case.

According to the transcript provided by Islamic Republic News Agency, Mohseni 
Ejei did not elaborate further.

Many Iranian Facebook users became aware of Arabi's case on Nov. 24, when 
Iran's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Arabi, who was convicted in 
a Tehran criminal court with insulting the prophet. A Facebook page against 
Arabi's execution was set up to spread awareness about the case.

According to Arabi's lawyer, Vahid Moshkani Farahani, the Tehran court had 
originally sought the death penalty for Arabi for "insulting the prophet." When 
the Supreme Court reviewed the case, it upheld the ruling and added the 
"corruption on Earth" charge, which also carries the death penalty.

Arabi was arrested on November 2013 along with his wife Nastaran Naimi, who was 
soon released. Naimi made no public comments until the Supreme Court ruling, 
and has since pleaded in various interviews with foreign-based media outlets 
for her husband's life.

In an telephone interview with journalist Masih Alinejad, Naimi said when she 
last met with Arabi he was unaware of the Supreme Court ruling and she was 
forced to convey the news to him herself. She said that the court upheld the 
verdict over "merely 4 Facebook posts." Naimi said, "We're awaiting Islamic 
mercy" and added, "When the Prophet Muhammad was directly insulted, he would 
forgive it." She told Alinejad that she decided to break her year-long silence 
because after the Supreme Court ruling, she felt like she had nothing left to 
lose.

According to the Centre for Supporters of Human Rights, Arabi was arrested for 
"Facebook activities and having Facebook pages such as 'The generation that no 
longer wants to be the burnt generation.'???

Naimi told the center that her husband "was only a citizen and had no other 
activities." She said that the only evidence used against him was "printouts of 
Facebook pages" and "confessions that were attained under pressure from the 
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."

According to Naimi, the printouts had no special significance and their 
contents were merely "copy-pasted." Naimi also said that there were others who 
had access to the Facebook pages who could have posted the items in question 
and criticized officials for not conducting expert analysis to determine which 
individual contributor to the page had posted the items.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps has recently become highly active in pursuing 
so-called "cyber crime" in Iran. In December 2013, the group announced it had 
arrested "cyber activists" in Kerman who had connections to foreigners.

(source: Al-Monitor)

*****************

Tens of Executions and Hunger Stikes in Ghezel-Hes'ar Prison


Prisoners at Unit 2 of Karaj Qezel Hesar Prison started a hunger strike in 
protest at tens of executions at this prison.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), during 
the last 2 weeks at least 44 death row prisoners at Unit 2 of Karaj Qezel Hesar 
Prison have been transferred to solitary confinements in groups of 11 people in 
preparation to be executed later.

The last group of these prisoners have been summoned to be sent to solitary 
confinements and to enforce their death sentence on the evening of December 
2nd. "Ali Golyarani", "Yousef Fakhte", "Mansour Yadegari" and 2 people named 
"Salam" and "Behnam" are 5 names among these prisoners.

From, Monday 1 December 2014, prisoners at Unit 2 of this prison has started 
unlimited hunger strike all together in protest to these group executions.

There are about 3000 inmates at Unit2 (which is consisted of 9 halls) at Karaj 
Qezel Hesar Prison for drug related crimes and so far 1000 of them have been 
sentenced to death.

It is important to mention that Qezel Hesar Prison usually homes drug related 
criminals. It is one of the biggest prisons in the Middle East and there have 
been many reports about the unacceptable hygiene condition and ill treatments 
by the prison authorities at this prison.

During autumn, massive strikes by thousands of death row prisoners at Qezel 
Hesar Prison forced the Enforcement Office to suspend the executions for 6 
months.

Further complimentary reports about this issue will be published soon.

(source: Human Rights Activists News Agency)