Iran Executes Two Kurdish Prisoners

The Islamic Republic has carried out the executions of two Kurdish prisoners, amid a significant increase in the country's use of death penalty.

On April 30, Kurdish prisoner Faramarz Moradi, 31, was executed in Ardabil Central Prison, according to HANA Human Rights Organization.

Moradi was arrested on drug-related charges four years ago and sentenced to death by the Iranian judicial system. 

Anwar Khezri, a Kurdish religious prisoner from Mahabad, was also executed on April 30 in Ghezelhesar prison after 15 years of imprisonment. 

This follows the recent executions of his co-defendants, Davood Abdollahi, Qasim Abeste, Ayoub Karimi, and Farhad Salimi, who were all held in the same prison.

Khezri's family was denied a final meeting despite being notified at the last minute about his transfer to solitary confinement on the day before his execution. 

According to a report by Amnesty International, Iran has reached its highest level of executions in the last eight years, with the judiciary of the Islamic Republic executing 853 people in 2023 alone.

The report indicates that 481 executions, more than half of the total, were related to drug crimes. 

This marks an 89 percent increase compared to 2022 when 255 people were executed for drug-related offenses. 

The latest numbers also show a staggering 264 percent increase compared to 2021, when 132 individuals faced execution for similar charges.