Since the start of the year 2023, the Islamic Republic of Iran has executed 277 people, according to reports by Norway based NGO Iran Human Rights. In the past month alone, over 90 people were executed, marking the highest rate of executions in Iran in the last 5 years.
The execution of three young protestors on May 19th who were arrested in the protests following Zhina (Mahsa) Amini’s murder has circled back attention to the Islamic Republic’s new wave of terror.
Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were arrested in November last year in connection to the murder of two Basij militia members in Isfahan. Despite the lack of evidence and a verdict based on forced confessions under torture, the three were executed just two days after a letter signed by the three surfaced online.
In the letter, written on a prison library note, the three asked for support from their fellow Iranians:
“Our fellow Isfahanis and compatriots, we have a request from you, please don’t let them kill us. We need your help. We need your support. Saeed Yaghoubi, Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi, ‘Iran’s children’.”
In addition to the letter, an undated voice note from Majid Kazemi in prison reveals repeated torture to gain the forced confessions used to issue their death sentences. In an exclusive interview with Zamaneh prior to his execution, Mohammad Hashemi, Majid Kazemi’s cousin, confirmed that the authorities repeatedly used threats against Majid’s family to get him to confess. Despite Majid’s family managing to find three political sponsors in Australia (Hashemi’s residence) and a meeting with Australia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, no reconsiderations were made by the Islamic Republic.
In a statement shared by Amnesty, Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa stated, “These executions are designed by the Iranian authorities to send a strong message to the world and the people of Iran that they will stop at nothing to crush and punish dissent. In the absence of a robust international response, the authorities will continue to revel, unabated, in their impunity with lethal consequences for people in Iran.”
This new wave of executions comes after months long protests following the murder of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini and a number of major global condemnations, EU sanctions and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran. In spite of this level of global attention, the Islamic Republic continues to live up to its dubbed name – the Islamic Republic’s killing machine.
The three protesters executed in Isfahan are just 3 out of the 90 people executed in Iran this past month, according to statistics by Iran Human Rights. In comparison to many other executed prisoners, Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi had considerable public support, both on social media and in public, with crowds protesting regularly outside Isfahan’s Dastgerd prison up until their warned execution.
The horrific wave of executions are largely aimed at those living on the margins of Iranian society, including people in lower social classes as well as national, ethnic and religious minorities. While the identities and details of many remain less known, among them are more than 20 Baluch prisoners executed for drug related charges, at least one unidentified woman and prominent Iranian Arab political activist Habib Chaab.
Several international organisations, including the UNHCR and the Center for Human Rights in Iran are calling on world leaders to increase pressure on Iran in hopes of putting a stop to the executions.
At the moment, several prisoners await their unpredictable fate on death row. Among them are Samira Abbasi, a child bride sentenced to death for the murder of her husband and two Afghan workers named Mohammad Ramez Rashidi and Seyed Naeem Hashemi Qatali, accused of participating in the 2022 Shah Cheragh attack in Shiraz.
Earlier this week, the death sentence of 22 year old barber shop worker Mohammed Ghobadloo was reaffirmed by Iran’s Supreme court. Ghobadloo was arrested in the protests following Zhina (Mahsa) Amini’s murder. Though he suffers from bipolar disorder, he has been denied medications and his condition has not been recognized in the trial.
At least 582 people were executed by the Islamic Republic in 2022, a 75% increase from the number of executions in 2021 as reported by Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM).
