The Government of Iran commits itself to the executions of demonstrators in an attempt to stop the protests that call for the end of the Islamic Republic, after the police repression failed to end some mobilizations that are going to be three months old and despite strong international reviews.
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Neither the strong police repression that has caused more than 400 deaths, nor the massive arrests with more than 15,000 detainees, nor the internet cuts, censorship or pressure on informants have managed to stop the protests unleashed by the death of Mahsa Amini in September.
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The Iranian authorities have begun to hang prisoners detained for their involvement in the protests in another step in the repression of mobilizations that began with the cry of “woman, life, freedom” and in which they are now shouting “death to the Republic”. Islamic”.
The first execution of a prisoner was carried out on Thursday, that of 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari, hanged for wounding an Islamic militant basiji with a knife, blocking a street and creating terror in Tehran.
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And this Monday, the Iranian government went a step further with the public execution of Majid Reza Rahnavard for the murder of two basijis -Islamic militants- in the holy city of Mashad (northeast), reported the Mizan agency of the Judiciary.
State media have released photos of Rahnavard’s hanging.
In addition, videos of the execution have been made public, such as one in which a person is seen hanging from a crane, while a bystander says “Alau Akbar” (Allah is the greatest).
Another nine people have been sentenced to death and Amnesty International (AI) reports that 28 are facing charges that could be punished by hanging.
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‘Express’ trials and executions
The trials and sentences of the two hanged have been “express”. Rahnavard was arrested on November 19, charged on November 24 and tried on November 29, the same day he was sentenced to death, after allegedly confessing to his crimes, according to Mizan.
This is unusual speed even for one of the world’s leading countries in the application of the death penalty, with 314 executions – the majority for drug offenses – in 2021, according to AI.
Public execution is also unusual, a procedure that has fallen out of favor in recent years in an attempt to improve the country’s image.
(Also read: Iran sentences five accused of killing a paramilitary to death)
By comparison, during the massive 2009 protests over alleged voter fraud in the election of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, executions took seven months to carry out.
The state media announced in January 2010 the executions of two people involved in the massive mobilizations of the Green Movement, but it was later revealed that the prisoners had been detained before the protests and had not been hanged for them.
In the case of the 2019 protests, which began over rising fuel prices and killed 300 protesters, several people were sentenced to death but their executions were never announced.
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international criticism
Shekari’s execution on Thursday sparked a wave of international condemnation, especially from Western countries, which have called on Iran to end the hangings.
The European Union plans to give the green light this Monday to new sanctions against Iranian officials for human rights violations, after harshly criticizing the execution of a 23-year-old man last week.
Despite this, Iran went ahead with the hanging of Rahnavard, which was also public.
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The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, perhaps found the key to summary and rapid executions. “Clearly this is for the purpose of creating fear for the rest of the protesters,” Türk told a news conference on Friday.
new protests
Despite this, the executions have provoked new protests in the country, such as those on Saturday when marches were held in silence and with candles in numerous cities of the Persian nation to condemn the first hanging.
Today, after learning of the new execution, Iranian activists have again called to protest, with mobilizations for this afternoon and tomorrow, Wednesday, with vigils during the night.
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The riots began due to the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish girl after being arrested by the Morality Police for not wearing the veil correctly, but they have evolved and now the protesters are calling for the end of the Islamic Republic founded by Ayatollah Ruholá Khomeini in 1979.
These are the biggest protests against the Ayatollahs’ regime in decades and so far the protesters, especially young people and women, show no sign of giving up.
EFE
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