At least two Iranians sentenced to death for their involvement in the protest movement face imminent execution, human rights groups said on Sunday despite outcry over a first hanging.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is rocked by protests sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who died three days after her arrest by vice police. She accused him of having violated the dress code requiring women to wear the veil in public.
At least 458 people have been killed in the crackdown on protests, according to a latest tally from the Oslo-based human rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR), and at least 14,000 have been arrested according to the UN.
Mohsen Shekari, a 23-year-old man convicted of attacking and injuring a paramilitary, was executed on Thursday, after what human rights groups called a hastily concluded show trial.
Ten other people were sentenced to death for their participation in the demonstrations, described as “riots” by the authorities, the Iranian judicial authority said.
Amnesty International says Iran is ‘preparing to execute’ Mahan Sadrat, 22, after a speedy and ‘unfair’ trial in which the young man was found guilty of drawing a knife during the protests, charges that he denied in court.
“stronger” reaction
Sentenced to death on November 3, he was transferred on Saturday to Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, near Tehran, “raising fears of imminent execution”, said the London-based NGO.
According to IHR, this sentence has been confirmed by the Supreme Court, which makes it enforceable. “Like all the other death row inmates, he was denied all access to his lawyer” throughout the legal proceedings.
Amnesty International has also warned that the life of another young man, Sahand Nourmohammadzadeh, was in danger after he was sentenced to death on 6 November for “tearing down highway guardrails and setting fire to bins and tyres”.
His death sentence “was pronounced after an accelerated procedure which did not resemble a trial”, according to the NGO.
Amnesty and IHR further mentioned the case of Hamid Gharehasanlou, a doctor on death row, who they say was tortured in detention and whose wife was coerced into testifying against him.
For the director of IHR, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the international response must be “stronger than ever” to prevent further executions.
Several Western countries, as well as the European Union and the UN, have condemned the execution of Mohsen Shekari. Canada and Britain imposed sanctions on Iranian figures after his hanging.
“Killing Frenzy”
But human rights activists and NGOs have called for a stronger reaction, going as far as severing diplomatic relations with Iran and deporting Iranian envoys to European capitals.
Iran executes more convicts than any other country except China, according to Amnesty International. More than 500 people were executed there in 2022, according to IHR.
In early December, the Supreme National Security Council reported that “more than 200 people”, including civilians and security forces, had been killed in Iran since September 16. A general of the Revolutionary Guards had reported more than 300 dead.
The director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), Hadi Ghaemi, accused Iran of “initiating a killing spree”.
For him, “governments around the world must unite to reinforce the diplomatic and economic cost for Iran, otherwise the international community gives the green light to this carnage”.