From Tehmina Mustapha
TEHRAN: Iran has executed three men accused of deadly violence against security officers during last year’s anti-government protests despite objections from human rights groups.
Mizan, the judiciary’s website, announced on Friday the executions of Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi. The statement did not reveal details of how the death penalty was carried out.
Authorities said the men killed a police officer and two members of the paramilitary Basij group in Isfahan, Iran’s third largest city, in November 2022 during nationwide protests.
All three men were convicted of “moharebeh”, an Islamic legal term meaning “waging war against God”, for using weapons, forming a group to undermine national security, and cooperating with the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), a Europe-based group that Tehran considers a “terrorist” organisation. The Supreme Court said it saw no credible reason to accept their appeal cases as they aimed to “overthrow the holy Islamic Republic establishment” and also engaged in arson during “riots”. Earlier this week, as the families of the three men said they suspected their sentences could be carried out soon, they demonstrated in front of the central prison in Isfahan where they were being held. They also released videos and asked the people to support them.
Videos also emerged online earlier this week showing many cars congregating around the prison area, with drivers honking their horns and chanting slogans in support of staying the executions. A short message purportedly handwritten and signed by the three men was widely published online, in which they said, “Don’t let them kill us.”
The protests began in mid-September 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who was arrested by “morality police” in Tehran for allegedly not adhering to a mandatory dress code for women.
The demonstrations have largely subsided in recent months, though there are still sporadic acts of defiance, including the refusal of a growing number of women to adhere to the dress code.
Foreign-based human rights organisations say more than 500 people died during the unrest. Some 19,000 people were arrested, though many have since been released.
