Three men were executed in Iran after being sentenced to death for involvement in the deaths of law enforcement officials during protests sparked by the death of the young Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police last year. The execution was announced by the judiciary. Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi had been convicted of “war against God” during a protest in the central city of Isfahan, the news agency said Mizan Online.
The decision was condemned by the EU foreign affairs and security policy spokesman Peter Stano: “The European Union condemns these executions in the strongest terms”, reads a statement, “and calls once again on the Iranian authorities to put an immediate end to the highly condemnable practice of imposing and executing death sentences against the demonstrators. The EU urges the Iranian authorities to refrain from applying the death penalty and from carrying out future executions and to pursue a coherent policy aimed at the total abolition of the death penalty. It is also imperative that the Iranian authorities uphold people’s right to due process accused and ensure that those subjected to any form of detention or confinement are not subjected to any form of ill-treatment”. And again: “The EU urges the Iranian authorities to respect their obligations under international law, including the international pact on civil and political rights, of which Iran is a party. Fundamental rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, must be respected in all circumstances. The EU reiterates its firm opposition in principle to the use of the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty is a cruel and inhuman punishment, which does not act as a deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity. Furthermore, it is a definitive punishment that makes any errors of justice irreversible”.
Harsh condemnation even from Amnesty International. “This morning at dawn, the three protesters who had been arrested in November 2022, subjected to torture and tortured confessions were hanged in the Iranian city of Isfahan”, he denounced Riccardo Noury, spokesperson for Amnesty International Italy. “A show trial. With their execution, the number of demonstrators already hanged since the beginning of the protests reaches seven, in a context in which Iran has already recorded 260 hangings this year alone, which are added to the 576 of last year. Just 24 hours ago, Iranian authorities accused human rights organizations of spreading false news of the imminent execution. Other than false, unfortunately. May the international community act to put an end to this state massacre”.