Iran Executes Afghan Prisoner In Sistan Province, Says Rights Group
The Iran Human Rights Organisation has reported that authorities at Zabol Prison in Sistan and Baluchestan province have executed two prisoners, one of whom was an Afghan national.
According to the organisation, both individuals had previously been sentenced to death by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic on charges of “premeditated murder.” The executions were carried out in the early hours of Thursday, 16 May.
The Afghan prisoner has been identified as Abdullah. The second individual, Reza Dahmardeh, was a 24-year-old Iranian of Baluch ethnicity who was reportedly sentenced to death three years ago.
To date, neither Iranian state media nor official sources have confirmed the executions.
The Iran Human Rights Organisation, which operates outside of Iran, has criticised the lack of murder classification in Iranian law, noting that death sentences are routinely issued for all types of murder, regardless of the circumstances or motives involved.
Human rights organisations based outside Iran have previously stated that executions of Afghan prisoners have increased since the Taliban assumed power in Afghanistan. According to these groups, more than 80 Afghan inmates were executed in Iran last year.
