Chronological archive
December 2023
The 118 news items published by Hands Off Cain in December 2023, in chronological order.
IRAN - 6 men executed in Birjand on December 31
Shir Ahmad Sanjrani, Amanullah Sanjrani, Bidollah Brahui, Ghousalddin Nahtani, Javad Chopani, Hamid Jahani
DECEMBER 31, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Nur Ahmad Ghalandarzahi executed in Shiraz on December 31
DECEMBER 31, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hengaw Organization for Human Rights releases its 2023 report
Execution of 823 Prisoners in Iran during 2023
DECEMBER 31, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: FOUR PEOPLE EXECUTED ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
Sauri Arabia executed four people on New Year’s Eve, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
- DECEMBER 30, 2023JapanDEATH PENALTY
NO EXECUTIONS IN JAPAN IN 2023; LAST ONE WAS FOR AKIHABARA KILLER
Japan carried out no executions in 2023 for the first time in three years.
- DECEMBER 30, 2023North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
NORTH KOREA: PUBLICLY EXECUTED FOR KILLING A WOMAN WHILE TRYING TO STEAL BEANS
Hundreds of residents were forced to gather at an airfield in frigid weather to watch authorities execute a 23-year-old man by firing squad on December 19, 2023, residents in North Korea told Radio Free Asia.
- DECEMBER 30, 2023DEATH PENALTY
IRAN 2 Afghan citizens executed in Karaj on December 30
Not identified
- DECEMBER 30, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA: RAJASTHAN POSCO COURT AWARDS DEATH PENALTY TO RAPE, DOUBLE MURDER ACCUSED YOUTH
A Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Rajasthan’s Pali district awarded the death penalty to a 22-year-old accused in a case involving rape and double murder, Hindustan Times reported on December 13, 2023.
- DECEMBER 30, 2023PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN: SENATE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE VOTES AGAINST PUBLIC HANGING FOR RAPISTS
Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights passed a resolution on December 30, 2023 against a proposal to impose the death penalty by public hanging of capital offenders and rapists in particular.
DECEMBER 30, 2023NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: GOV. SANWO-OLU OF LAGOS STATE RELEASES 246 INMATES, COMMUTES 39 DEATH SENTENCE TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has approved the release of 246 inmates from various correctional facilities across the state.
DECEMBER 30, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdul Shawali executed in Karaj on December 30
- DECEMBER 29, 2023QatarDEATH PENALTY
QATAR COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF 8 INDIAN NAVY VETERANS
A Qatar court has reduced sentences for eight former Indian Navy personnel involved in an alleged espionage case, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on December 28, 2023.
DECEMBER 29, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: MAN GETS DEATH FOR BANK CAPER MURDER
A man who unsuccessfully tried to rob a bank in Da Nang was sentenced to death on December 28, 2023 for killing a security guard who chased him from the crime scene.
DECEMBER 29, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Asghar Abdullah Parikhani and Abbas Faraj Oghli executed in Meshgin Shahr
Parikhani on December 29, Oghli on December 25
DECEMBER 29, 2023BurundiDEATH PENALTYBURUNDI: PRESIDENT SAYS GAY PEOPLE SHOULD BE STONED IN STADIUMS
Burundi's President Évariste Ndayishimiye has said that homosexuals in his country "should be stoned", BBC reported on December 29, 2023.
- DECEMBER 28, 2023DEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Public execution in Najaf Abad for the murder of a police agent
Unidentified
DECEMBER 28, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men “recently” executed in Karaj
Akbar Qara Gozlu, Ehsan Hamedi + Unk.
DECEMBER 28, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 political prisoners executed in Urmia on December 28
3 men and 1 woman: Aram Omri, Rahman Parhazou, Vafa Hanareh, and Nasim Namazi
DECEMBER 28, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hassan Rahbar executed in Gorgan on December 28
DECEMBER 28, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Karim Aminikhah executed in Bandar Abbas on December 28
DECEMBER 28, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Reza Eyvazi executed in Kashan on December 28
DECEMBER 28, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Unnamed man executed in Yazd on December 28
- DECEMBER 27, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed in Ardabil on December 27
Yasin Khodakarami, Alireza Nejati, Jebreil Fadayi, Ali Zaman Khani
DECEMBER 27, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ismaeil Ghader Magham (Barahoei) executed in Birjand on December 27
DECEMBER 27, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - HRANA: Annual Report on Human Rights in Iran for the year 2023
DECEMBER 27, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ramin Faghiri Executed in Hamedan on December 27
DECEMBER 27, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mansour Salamat killed under the torture on December 27
DECEMBER 27, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Birjand on December 27
Ismail Qadir Maqam, Ahmad Gergij, Mohammad Hissari
DECEMBER 27, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 women and 1 man executed in Birjand on December 27
DECEMBER 27, 2023DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehdi Dahmardeh executed in Birjand on December 27
Nineth person to be executed that day in that prison
DECEMBER 27, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: PRESIDENT REDUCES DEATH SENTENCE TO LIFE FOR 18 PRISONERS
President Vo Van Thuong signed a decision on December 27, 2023 to reduce death penalties to life imprisonment for 18 prisoners who filed petitions for commuted sentences.
Show news 31–60 of 117
DECEMBER 26, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Reza Mehraban executed in Sanandaj on December 26
DECEMBER 26, 2023NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DEATH BY HANGING FOR SETTING HIS MOTHER ABLAZE IN NIGER STATE
The Minna High Court presided over by the Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, on December 13, 2023 sentenced Stephen Jiya to death by hanging for setting his biological mother ablaze which resulted in her death.
DECEMBER 26, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: 2 BANGLADESHIS EXECUTED FOR KILLING AN INDIAN
Two expatriates were executed in Saudi Arabia after they had been convicted in a final court ruling of murdering a man by spraying an insecticide into his mouth, Gulf News reported on December 23, 2023.
- DECEMBER 24, 2023MaldivesDEATH PENALTY
MALDIVES’ PUSH TO REINSTATE DEATH PENALTY SPARKS UPROAR
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Maldives government to refrain from a planned move to reintroduce the death penalty in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation.
DECEMBER 23, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Isfahan
Shirali Saeidi and Saman Mogouei on December 23, Reza Keshavarzi on December 22
DECEMBER 23, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Karamullah Lorestani and Hossein Papi executed in Khorramabad on December 23
DECEMBER 22, 2023OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Glynn Simmons formally exonerated
After 48 years in prison
DECEMBER 21, 2023TanzaniaDEATH PENALTYTANZANIA: SIX PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER CHURCH BOMBING
Six people found guilty of bombing a Catholic church in Arusha, northwestern Tanzania in 2013 have been sentenced to death.
DECEMBER 21, 2023PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: SHAHNAWAZ AMIR SENTENCED TO DEATH IN SARAH INAM’S MURDER CASE
An Islamabad trial court on December 14, 2023 sentenced Shahnawaz Amir to death for the murder of Sarah Inam and imposed a fine of Rs1 million on him, which would be paid to the bereaved family.
DECEMBER 21, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Saleh Amini Executed in Taybad on December 21
- DECEMBER 21, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Mojtaba Ayami executed in Qom on December 21
- DECEMBER 20, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN EXECUTED FOR STABBING MUM, SISTER TO DEATH
Saudi authorities have executed a citizen after he had been convicted of fatally stabbing his mother and sister and burnt their bodies.
DECEMBER 20, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 6 Unidentified Men Executed in Ardabil on December 20
Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year for the past three years
DECEMBER 20, 2023ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FEMALE SERIAL KILLER LAO RONGZHI EXECUTED
Lao Rongzhi, a woman in the spotlight for her involvement in multiple killings, was executed on December 18, 2023 after China's top court approved her death sentence.
DECEMBER 20, 2023BotswanaDEATH PENALTYBOTSWANA: CHILD-KILLER CONDEMNED TO DEATH
The Gaborone High Court has sent a convicted child rapist and murderer to the gallows. Chief Justice Terrence Rannowane sentenced Ramatshwiri Mokobela to death on December 14, 2023 for killing a five-year-old girl-child in the Ghanzi District area.
DECEMBER 20, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Samira Sabzian Fard executed in Karaj on December 20
21 women executed in Iran this year
DECEMBER 20, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Farzad Golmohammadi Executed in Sanandaj on December 20
DECEMBER 20, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Najibollah Dahmardeh Executed in Ghaemshahr on December 20
Baluch are grossly overrepresented in execution numbers in Iran
DECEMBER 20, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Death Sentences Issued for 2,000 People in the Small City of Delfan
- DECEMBER 19, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Sweden. Appeals Court Upholds Life Sentence for Hamid Noury
DECEMBER 19, 2023GuyanaDEATH PENALTYGUYANA: HIGH COURT JUDGE SENTENCED FIVE MEN TO DEATH FOR BRUTAL 2016 PIRACY ATTACK
Justice Sandil Kissoon of the High Court in Guyana on December 14, 2023 sentenced five men to death for the 2016 piracy attack that claimed the lives of four fishermen.
DECEMBER 19, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Moslem Farahani executed in Zanjan on December 19
DECEMBER 19, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdollah Zamani and Esmail Ijbari Executed in Karaj on December 19
DECEMBER 19, 2023LouisianaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Louisiana. Frank Ford Cosey's death sentence reduced to life in prison
For intellectual disability
DECEMBER 19, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi boycotts latest trial
DECEMBER 18, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ali Poursiamak Executed in Neyshabur on December 18
DECEMBER 18, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Taher Davabi Executed in Khorramabad on December 18
DECEMBER 18, 2023PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Pennsylvania. Noel Montalvo Exonerated
- DECEMBER 16, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Execution Of Alleged Mossad Agent (not identified)
DECEMBER 16, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohsen Salarzehi executed in Iranshahr on December 16
818 executions in Iran in 2023
Show news 61–90 of 117
DECEMBER 15, 2023TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Texas still leads nation in executions, but the pace is much slower now
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty 2023 Report
DECEMBER 15, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Davoud Brahui (Brahooie) executed in Qom on December 15
- DECEMBER 14, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Khairullah Nahtani executed in Zahedan on December 14
DECEMBER 14, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Three men recently executed in Shiraz
DECEMBER 14, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mosafer Zargar executed in Mashhad on December 14
DECEMBER 14, 2023AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. Lawsuit against the execution of Kenneth Smith under the new nitrogen hypoxia system
Set for 25 January
DECEMBER 13, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abid (Obaid) Mahmoudi executed in Kermanshah on December 13
DECEMBER 13, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Vahid Haji Pour executed in Isfahan on December 13
DECEMBER 13, 2023MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED, WORKER GETS 33 YEARS FOR KILLING FOREMAN
A Bangladeshi man escaped the gallows after the Federal Court in Putrajaya on December 23, 2023 commuted his death sentence to 33 years in jail for murdering his fellow countryman.
DECEMBER 13, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Khalil Majedi executed in Ahvaz on December 13
DECEMBER 13, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammadreza Habibian Executed in Babol on December 13
DECEMBER 13, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Hamid Bakshayesh executed in Karaj on December 13
There is a high possibility that he was a child offender
- DECEMBER 12, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - The European Parliament officially awarded the Sakharov prize to Mahsa Amini
and the Woman, Life, Freedom protest movement
- DECEMBER 12, 2023IndiaDEATH PENALTY
MOTHER OF NURSE FACING EXECUTION IN YEMEN TOLD TO EXPLAIN ‘BLOOD MONEY’
The Delhi High Court on December 11, 2023 directed Premakumari, the mother of Nimisha Priya, a Kerala nurse facing a death sentence in Yemen for her involvement in the murder of a local citizen, to furnish documents illustrating the legal option of blood
- DECEMBER 12, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Ali Bababyi executed in Shirvan on December 12
DECEMBER 12, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Davoud Khademi executed in Sanandaj on 12 December
- DECEMBER 12, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Ali Babaei executed in Shirvan on December 12
DECEMBER 12, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 5 men executed in Karaj on December 12
Amin Zakeri Kakavand, Khalil Haji Abadi, Milad Bideh, Hamid Bakshaish, and Hamid Esmaili
DECEMBER 12, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sajad Haghizadeh executed in Khorramabad on December 12
DECEMBER 12, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Bahram Seyed Zadeh executed in Qom on December 12
DECEMBER 12, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abolfazl Abdolmaleki executed in Qom on December 12
DECEMBER 12, 2023MississippiDEATH PENALTYUSA - Mississippi. Conviction of Terry Pitchford overturned
DECEMBER 11, 2023NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN ZAMFARA FOR KILLING FRIEND OVER N100
A Zamfara State High Court on December 7, 2023 sentenced one Anas Dahiru to death by hanging for killing his friend.
DECEMBER 11, 2023JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN: EX-COP'S APPEAL OVER MURDER OF FAMILY DISMISSED, DEATH PENALTY UPHELD
Japan's top court on December 8, 2023 dismissed an appeal by the defense of a former policeman who was given the death sentence for the murders of his wife and two children in 2017, exhausting his legal options.
DECEMBER 11, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mahsa Amini's Family Decries Travel Ban on Eve of Human Rights Award Ceremony
The European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought
DECEMBER 11, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Amin Jokar executed in Shiraz on December 11
DECEMBER 10, 2023NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER MOTORCYCLE THEFT IN EKITI
Four persons, Segun Friday, Tijani Semiu Seun, Ogunyemi Segun Olarewaju, and Adebayo Tope, found guilty of stealing a motorcycle have been sentenced to death by the Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Tori.ng reported on Devember 7, 2023.
DECEMBER 10, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - (Norway) Narges Mohammadi's children collect the Nobel in place of their mother, detained in Iran
DECEMBER 10, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Swede Johan Floderus faces charges in Iran of spying for Israel
- DECEMBER 9, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Abbas Ketabi executed in Qom on December 9
Show news 91–117 of 117
DECEMBER 9, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Abdul Basit Gorgich (Gorgij) and Abdul Aziz Shahlibur (Shahlibar) executed in Zahedan on December 9
DECEMBER 9, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 2 men executed in Zahedan on December 9
Ehsan Mahmoudzehi + Unk
DECEMBER 9, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mehdi Nasiri and Abbas Ketabi executed in Qom on December 9
DECEMBER 8, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 3 men executed in Orumiyeh (Urmia) on December 8
Ali Shahin-Nejad, Solat Tosan, and Janali Nadimi Dargahi
DECEMBER 8, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Iran Human Rights Monitor: 743 executions in 2023
Hands off Cain counted 768 executions
DECEMBER 7, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Amir Alikhani executed in Rafsanjan on December 7
782 executions in Iran in 2023
- DECEMBER 7, 2023KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
KUWAIT: EGYPTIAN AND KUWAITI TO HANG FOR KILLING RASHIDI
The Criminal Court on December 4, 2023 sentenced a Kuwaiti citizen and an Egyptian expatriate, who were charged with Mubarak Al-Rashidi's murder, to death by hanging.
DECEMBER 7, 2023TaiwanDEATH PENALTYTAIWAN: DEATH PENALTY UPHELD IN EXECUTION-STYLE SHOOTING OF 5 IN NANTOU
Taiwan High Court's Taichung Branch Court on December 7, 2023 upheld the death penalty handed down by a lower court to a gunman found guilty of the execution-style shooting and killing of four people and critically injuring a fifth at a biotechnology comp
- DECEMBER 7, 2023MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
MALAYSIA: COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCES OF 9 TRAFFICKERS TO 30 YEARS’ JAIL
A 76-year-old former security guard on death row was among nine men who saw their death sentences commuted to 30 years’ jail under the temporary jurisdiction accorded to the Federal Court by law, FMT reported on December 6, 2023.
DECEMBER 7, 2023United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - DPIC 2023 Year End Report
24 executions and 21 new death sentences in 2023
- DECEMBER 6, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Zabihollah Arjomand executed in Dehdasht on December 6
DECEMBER 6, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Khaled Rouhi (Roohi) and Sirus Heydari (Sirous Heidari) executed in Sanandaj on December 6
DECEMBER 6, 2023YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: HUTHIS SENTENCE RIGHTS ACTIVIST TO DEATH
A Yemeni human rights activist has been sentenced to death on spying charges by a court in Sanaa, the country's Huthi-held capital, her lawyer told AFP on December 5, 2023.
DECEMBER 6, 2023KuwaitDEATH PENALTYKUWAIT: ETHIOPIAN WOMAN TO BE EXECUTED FOR INDIAN COLLEAGUE’S STABBING
The Court of Cassation in Kuwait City has issued a verdict to execute an Ethiopian woman who fatally stabbed her Indian colleague on the first day of Ramadan in 2021 in the Abdullah Al-Mubarak area, Arab Times reported on December 5, 2023.
- DECEMBER 6, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Kamal Elhami executed in Saqqez on December 6
DECEMBER 5, 2023ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: TEACHER EXECUTED FOR RAPING STUDENTS
A middle school teacher in Longhui county, Hunan province, has been executed for raping and molesting multiple students, according to a local court.
DECEMBER 5, 2023Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: TWO SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER MURDER COMMITTED IN 2010
The Central Province Civil Appellate High Court has sentenced two individuals to death after they were found guilty of murdering an individual back in 2010, Ada Derana reported on December 5, 2023.
- DECEMBER 5, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - 4 men executed in Karaj on December 5
Sasan Maleki, Mehdi Moradi, Mojtaba Amiri, and Manouchehr Nourabad Barzgar
DECEMBER 5, 2023FloridaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Florida. DNA connects death row inmate Lucious Boyd to rape and murder cold case
- DECEMBER 4, 2023ChinaDEATH PENALTY
PHILIPPINES SAYS CHINA HAS EXECUTED TWO FILIPINOS CONVICTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING DESPITE APPEALS
China has executed two Filipinos for drug trafficking despite high-level Philippine government appeals to commute their death sentences to life in prison, the Philippine government said December 2, 2023.
DECEMBER 4, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Fereydoun Nasiri-nejad executed in Jiroft on December 4
774 executions in Iran in 2023
DECEMBER 4, 2023United StatesDEATH PENALTYUSA - The Innocence Project helped exonerate 9 people in 2023
A list of these cases
DECEMBER 4, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Sadegh Ajdar executed in Yasuj on December 4
DECEMBER 3, 2023PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: FAMOUS TIK TOKER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
The District and Sessions Courts in Islamabad on November 30, 2023 awarded death penalty to a famous TikToker on charge of murder, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
- DECEMBER 3, 2023IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Ali Majidi executed in Qazvin on December 3
DECEMBER 3, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 4 men executed in Birjand on December 3
Mohammad Naeimi Far (Brahui), Ahmad Shahoo-Zahi, Maziar Narooie, and Hamid Sarani
DECEMBER 2, 2023IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - European Union: Current Pace Of Executions In Iran ‘Appalling’