The Balochistan Human Rights Group reported the execution of Amir Hamza Barahouyi, a Baloch prisoner, in Birjand Prison on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. Amir Hamza, originally from Western Balochistan’s city of Zabol and residing in Golestan, was arrested in 2019 on drug-related charges. Despite denying the charges and a Supreme Court annulment of his initial death sentence, he was re-sentenced and executed.
Hamza’s execution is part of a broader pattern of human rights violations in Iran, particularly against ethnic minorities like the Baloch, Turks, Kurds, and religious minorities like Sunnis. The Balochistan Human Rights Group highlighted that no drugs were found in Hamza’s possession, and he consistently denied the accusations. This execution follows a disturbing trend of targeting Baloch individuals, reflecting a state of insecurity for the Iran’s Baloch populace.
In 2023, at least 184 Baloch prisoners were executed in Iran, underscoring the excessive use of the death penalty against this ethnic minority. Since the beginning of 2024, at least 34 Baloch prisoners have met the same fate. These figures point to a pattern of persecution and raise serious concerns about the fairness of the trials and the overall treatment of Baloch prisoners.
A recent report by the Norwegian-based Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw revealed a significant number of executions in Iran during the first half of 2024, with the Baloch and Kurdish ethnic groups being disproportionately affected. Hengaw reported that at least 266 prisoners were executed from January to June 2024, including 32 Baloch prisoners. Alarmingly, only 8% of these executions were officially announced by Iranian state media, leaving the majority unreported and shrouded in secrecy.
The use of the death penalty against Baloch individuals has drawn significant criticism from human rights organizations. In August last year, eleven Baloch prisoners were executed on flimsy drug-related charges, intensifying the concerns about the fairness and transparency of Iran’s judicial process. The Iran Human Rights (IHR) organization reported that 61 individuals were executed in Iran during July alone, highlighting the ongoing wave of capital punishment.
Human rights activists argue that the rampant use of the death penalty in Iran serves to instill fear among the populace. The execution of Amir Hamza Barahouyi and others like him highlights the systemic discrimination that Iran’s Baloch populace faces, specifically in the Western Balochistan.