Iran: 29 people executed in a single day
In Iran last Wednesday 29 people were executed, human rights activists report. The day before the government had also executed another man in connection with the 2022 protest movement.
As the Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) reports, last Wednesday 26 men were hanged in a mass execution in Ghezelhesar Prison in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. That same day, three more people were executed in a different prison in Karaj.
According to IHRNGO the men were executed for murder, rape, and drug offenses. Two Afghan citizens and a member of the Baluch minority were among those killed.
Two women were also reportedly executed, though IHRNGO was unable to confirm the reports.
Warning of more executions to come
IHRNGO director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam warned: “Without an immediate response from the international community, hundreds of individuals could become victims of the Islamic Republic’s killing machine in the coming months!”
Several death sentences were carried out in the days preceding the mass execution: one of the victims, according to Amnesty International, was 34-year-old Reza (Gholamreza) Rasaei, who was executed on August 6. Rasaei had been sentenced to death in connection with the mass protests that broke out across the country in 2022. The authorities had accused him of stabbing a member of the Revolutionary Guard during the protests.
Amnesty reports that Rasaei was sentenced to death in October 2023 after a “grossly unfair” trial that followed his arrest in November 2022. The court relied on forced confessions – while in prison, Rasaei was tortured.
The authorities had not informed Rasaei, his family or his lawyer in advance of the execution. Only hours after the execution was carried out, Rasaei’s family was forced “to bury his body in a remote area far from his home and in the presence of security forces.”
Reza Rasaei was a member of Iran’s Kurdish minority. Just a day before his death, the UN’s Fact-Finding Mission on Iran released a report concluding that ethnic and religious minorities in the country – especially Kurds and Baluch people – “have been disproportionally impacted by the government’s crackdown on protesters since 2022.”
A means of repression
Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, pointed out that the execution of Rasaei took place while attention was focused on regional tensions between Iran and Israel. But, said Eltahawy, Rasaei’s death “highlights the Iranian authorities’ resolve to use the death penalty as a tool of political repression to instill fear among the population.”
Eltahawy added that the execution “dispels any illusions of human rights progress with a new president assuming power last week.”
According to Amnesty, Rasaei is the tenth person to have been executed in connection with the protests of the “Woman Life Freedom” movement.
Countrywide protests against the government broke out in September 2022 in response to the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman. The authorities responded with more intense repressive measures – thousands of people were arrested. The authorities have also cracked down on violations of the country’s veiling laws; enforcement measures include the use of surveillance cameras.
The death penalty has also been employed more frequently in the country: in 2023 at least 853 people were executed in Iran, according to Amnesty – more than in any other year since 2015. In the aftermath of the mass protests, the authorities have used the death penalty “to instill fear among the population and tighten their grip on power,” Amnesty wrote in April.
As of June 30 of this year, the Iranian authorities have already executed at least 274 people, according to the Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre for Human Rights in Iran. Amnesty International has long demanded that the Iranian authorities impose a moratorium on executions. IHRNGO has counted 87 additional executions since the election on July 6. (js)