NCRI – Arbitrary executions in Iran continue unabated causing concern among human rights bodies. The number of executions since the beginning of 2007 has gone beyond 250 which far exceeds the total number throughout 2006. The following report is by Amnesty International on September 13 expressing fear of imminent executions:
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/111/2007
13 September 2007
Further Information on UA 57/06 (MDE 13/023/2006, 10 March 2006) and follow-ups (MDE 13/073/2006, 29 June 2006; MDE 13/085/2006, 1 August 2006; MDE 13/041/2007, 2 April 2007) Death Penalty/Fear of imminent execution
IRAN Nazem Buraihi (m)
Aliredha Salman Delfi (m)
Ali Helfi (m)
Moslem al-Ha’i (m)
Yahia Nasseri (m)
Abdulzahra Halichi (m)
Abdul-Imam Za’eri (m)
Abdulredha Nawaseri (m), aged 32
Jaafar Sawari (m)
Mohammad Ali Sawari (m), aged 37, teacher, his brother
Abdulredha Nawaseri was reportedly executed on 11 September, together with brothers Mohammad Ali and Jaafar Sawari, in Karoun Prison, Khuzestan province.
Mohammad Ali Sawari’s family were reportedly told on 27 August that he would be executed within the next few days. Following the executions, the men’s families were also reportedly told that the bodies would not be handed back to them but would be buried by the authorities.
Abdulredha Nawaseri had reportedly been arrested in 2000, but was eventually charged in connection with bombings that took place in Ahwaz in October 2005. His brother Mehdi Nawaseri was executed on 2 March 2006, along with Ali Awdeh Afrawi, after they were convicted of involvement in these bombings. They were shown along with seven other men, including Jaafar Sawari, "confessing" on Khuzestan Provincial TV the day before they were hanged. Jaafar Sawari had reportedly been arrested in September 2005 and Mohammad Ali Sawari on or around 4 November 2005.
Abdulredha Nawaseri and Jaafar Sawari, along with nine other men, reportedly had their death sentences confirmed on 10 June 2006 by Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz. The 11 men, all members of Iran’s Arab minority, were reportedly accused of involvement in the October 2005 bombings. They were reportedly charged with being mohareb (at enmity with God), as well as with "destabilising the country", "attempting to overthrow the government", "possession of home made bombs", "sabotage of oil installations" and carrying out bombings in Ahvaz, which took place between June and October 2005. By the end of July 2006, the Supreme Court had reportedly upheld Mohammad Ali Sawari’s death sentence.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Much of Iran’s Arab community lives in the province of Khuzestan, which borders Iraq. It is strategically important because it is the site of much of Iran’s oil reserves, but the Arab population does not feel it has benefited as much from the oil revenue as the Persian population. Historically, the Arab community has been marginalised and discriminated against. Tension has mounted among the Arab population since April 2005, after it was alleged that the government planned to disperse the country’s Arab population or to force them to relinquish their Arab identity. Hundreds have been arrested and there have been reports of torture. Following bomb explosions in Ahvaz City in June and October 2005, which killed at least 14 people, and explosions at oil installations in September and October 2005, the cycle of violence has intensified, with hundreds of people reportedly arrested. Further bombings on 24 January 2006, in which at least six people were killed, were followed by further mass arrests. A total of 16 men have now been executed as a result of their alleged involvement in the bombings.
