Amnesty International has said that Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 21 people in what it called a “sham trial designed to intimidate participants in the popular uprising that has shaken Iran”. .
People light a fire during a protest against the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman arrested by the Islamic republic’s “morality police” in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022 (Photo: Reuters)
by ReutersIran on Thursday executed a man convicted of stabbing a security guard and blocking a road in Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said, the first such execution over recent anti-government unrest. .
nationwide Protests erupt after death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian On 16 September the woman Mahsa Amini represents one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979.
Authorities are cracking down on the protests and on Monday the Revolutionary Guards encouraged the judiciary to issue judgments swiftly and decisively against those accused of “crimes against the security of the nation and Islam”.
Tasnim news agency named the man killed as Mohsen Shekri, but gave no further details.
State media published a video of Shekhri’s confession in which he is seen with a scar on his right cheek. He admitted to attacking a member of the Basij militia with a knife and blocking a road with a friend on a motorcycle.
Rights groups have said that Shekhri was tortured and coerced into confessing.
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British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said he was “outraged” by the news of the executions. Cleverly said on Twitter, “The world cannot turn a blind eye to the despicable violence perpetrated by the Iranian regime against its own people.”
Germany also condemned the execution.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Bierbock said, “The Iranian regime’s contempt for humanity knows no bounds.” “But the threat of the gallows will not diminish the will of the people for liberty.”
Amnesty International has said that Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 21 people in what it called a “sham trial designed to intimidate participants in the popular uprising that has shaken Iran”. .
“The Iranian authorities should immediately cancel all death sentences, refrain from seeking the imposition of the death penalty, and drop charges against all those arrested in connection with their peaceful participation in the protests.”
Iran has blamed the unrest on its foreign enemies, including the United States.
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Judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi said on Tuesday that five men accused in the murder of Basij militia member Rouhollah Ajamian were sentenced to death in a verdict that they could appeal.
Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA reported on Thursday that five suspected members of the Islamic State terrorist group have been charged with “war against God” for their roles in the massacre of Shiite pilgrims in October, which is punishable by death. . ,
Even before the recent unrest, executions were on the rise in Iran. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said that the number reportedly passed 400 by September this year for the first time in five years.
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