Following the covert execution of Kurdish political prisoner Reza Rasayi in Kermanshah, Iran, human rights organisations have reported the execution of at least 20 prisoners in Kizil Hesar Prison in Tehran. This surge in executions has prompted significant unrest, including a sit-in protest in the women’s ward at Evin Prison.
The secret execution of Rasayi, who was accused of killing a security officer during the Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising, was announced alongside the executions of Hamza Garavand, Azad Abdullahi, and Aminullah Naroi.
The protest action on 6 August in Evin Prison received heavy handed retaliation from prison guards, Persian media reported, and phone lines were severed by authorities to prevent communications.
Several political prisoners sustained injuries during the guard attacks and were hospitalised, former political prisoner Mehdi Mahmoudian stated. Due to the disruption of telephone services, there is currently no information available on the prisoners’ condition.
During his incarceration, Rasayi had been subjected to severe torture, including broken fingers and ribs, by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Department in Kermanshah, intended to coerce a confession of murder, a family member revealed to Farsi Independent.
Rasayi’s execution, which took place at Diesel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, was carried out without informing his family or lawyer, denying him a final visit. In response to the increasing number of death sentences, political prisoners in Evin Prison have staged protests every Saturday for the past two months.
