Iran Executions: Man Hanged in Public

According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), death-row prisoner Mehdi Cheraghi was hanged in public on the morning of Thursday, May 23. This is a rare move because Iranian authorities usually hesitate to carry out executions on the month of Ramadan, Muslims’ fasting month.

Mehdi Cheraghi was sentenced to death on the charge of Moharebeh (waging war against God) through armed robbery.

Mehdi’s co-defendant, Bahman Varmazyar, was executed on April 18, 2018, at Hamadan prison. Bahman and Mehdi were among four people who robbed a jewellery shop on April 30, 2015. One of four was arrested by people at the scene, and the rest were arrested 15 days later.

UN human rights experts, including the former Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, had previously drawn particular attention to continued reports of public executions. “a dehumanising effect on both the victim and those who witness the execution” and ultimately reinforced the “already cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the death penalty,” UN experts said.