Supplementary Report: Iran Secretly Carries Out the Death Sentence of 20-Year-Old Prisoner in Birjand

Hengaw, Monday, October 7, 2024

The death sentence of 20-year-old Mojtaba Zafarani was carried out in secret at Birjand Central Prison on his birthday. Zafarani had been sentenced to death on charges of “rape.”

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, in the early hours of Sunday, September 29, 2024, Mojtaba Zafarani, 20 years old and from Boshruyeh, was executed in Birjand Central Prison without his family being informed.

Sources close to the case stated that the prisoner had been arrested on February 12, 2023, at the age of 18 years and 4 months, in connection with a threat to release a video of his relationship with his girlfriend. He was subsequently sentenced to death on charges of "rape."

A source close to the executed prisoner's family told Hengaw: "Despite the death sentence being overturned by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the execution was ultimately carried out due to the insistence and efforts of extrajudicial governmental bodies, such as the Basij Sisters."

It should be noted that Mojtaba Zafarani, born on September 29, 2004, had his death sentence carried out on his 21st birthday.

As of the time of this report, news of the prisoner’s execution has not been announced by state media, particularly those affiliated with the Iranian judiciary.