Iran was imposed new sanctions on Friday after carrying out a first execution the day before linked to the protest movement violently repressed for nearly three months, leading to new calls for demonstrations.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said for its part that the Islamic Republic was showing “the greatest restraint in the face of the riots”, in response to the indignation of Western countries at the hanging of this young man.
Iran is facing protests sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who died after she was arrested by vice police for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
Executed on Thursday, 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari was sentenced to death for blocking a street and injuring a paramilitary at the start of the protests, following legal proceedings denounced as a show trial by rights organizations humans.
The announcement of his execution provoked multiple condemnations abroad as well as from the UN.
In the United Kingdom, the Iranian charge d’affaires was summoned to the Foreign Office on Thursday after his execution, “a totally disproportionate action, which aims to intimidate ordinary Iranians and stifle dissenting voices”, according to a press release from the Foreign office.
London also said on Friday that it had sanctioned 30 entities or personalities from 11 countries including Iran, including Iranian officials accused of inflicting “shocking sentences” on anti-regime protesters.
Canada has sanctioned 22 senior officials of the Iranian judiciary, prison administration and police, as well as high-ranking aides to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
The European Union is preparing to add 20 people and an Iranian entity to its blacklist to sanction human rights violations committed in Iran during the repression of demonstrations, diplomatic sources in Brussels said on Friday.
Amnesty International said it was “horrified” by the hanging of Mohsen Shekari, which “highlights the inhumanity” of Iran’s justice system where “many others risk suffering the same fate”.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), for his part called for a strong international reaction to dissuade the Islamic Republic from carrying out further executions.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Thursday that Iran had shown “the utmost restraint in the face of the riots”.
“Death to the Dictator”
Mohsen Shekari was buried 24 hours after his execution in the presence of some family members and security forces in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran, the 1500tasvir website reported.
During the night from Thursday to Friday, demonstrators took to the street where he had been arrested, shouting “They took our Mohsen and brought back his body”, according to a video published by this online media.
During another rally in the Chitgar district of Tehran, demonstrators notably chanted “Death to the dictator”, in reference to the supreme leader.
Hamed Esmaeilion, an Iranian-Canadian activist who has organized mass protests in Berlin, Paris and other cities, announced more rallies over the weekend: “Regardless of beliefs and ideologies, let’s join these rallies to protest the horrific execution of #MohsenShekari,” he tweeted.
Shekari’s execution came with such haste that his family is still waiting to hear the outcome of his appeal, noted 1500tasvir, which released footage presented as the moment his family heard the news of the execution. in front of his house in Tehran. They show a woman repeatedly shouting “Mohsen!” »
According to the IHR, Iranian security forces have killed at least 458 protesters since the start of the protest movement. At least a dozen people are also at risk of hanging after being sentenced to death for their involvement in the protests, human rights NGOs have warned.