(Geneva) United Nations experts on Friday called on Iran to stop threatening people with the death penalty for participating in protests in the country.
Posted at 11:24 a.m.
“We urge the Iranian authorities to stop charging people for crimes punishable by the death penalty as a means of suppressing the protests and we call again for the immediate release of the protesters arbitrarily deprived of their liberty”, write the experts in a statement.
Experts, including UN special rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Iran, on arbitrary executions and attacks on freedom of expression, have called on Tehran to “immediately release all protesters who have been arbitrarily deprived of liberty”.
Experts say at least 304 people have been killed in the crackdown on protests that rocked the country for eight weeks after the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. The young woman died after being arrested for an outfit deemed not to comply with the strict dress code imposed on women under Sharia law.
Thousands of peaceful protesters were also arrested, including many women, children and young people, lawyers, activists and journalists, said the experts, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, but who do not speak on behalf of the international body.
They said they were very concerned about the proceedings initiated on October 29 in Tehran against eight people accused of “waging war against God” and bringing “corruption on earth”, crimes punishable by death.
Two days later, according to them, the Tehran prosecutor had indicated that a thousand charges had been pronounced in connection with the recent “riots”.
Last week, “in blatant violation of the separation of powers, 227 members of parliament called on the judiciary to act decisively against those arrested during the protests and to deliver verdicts involving the death penalty “, they pointed out.
“With the continued crackdown on protests, many more indictments for offenses carrying the death penalty or capital sentences could soon be handed down,” the experts warned.
“Women and girls, who have been on the front lines of the protests… could be particularly targeted.”
The death penalty has been widely handed down to protesters in Iran since the massive protests three years ago, on ‘baseless murder charges or vague national security charges’ , noted the experts.
“In 2020, at least two people were executed following their participation in protests,” they added.
The experts called on the Human Rights Council to urgently hold a meeting on the situation in Iran and to organize an international investigation to “end the persistent impunity for serious human rights violations”. .