The organization Amnesty International denounced, Tuesday July 28, an “escalation” of executions carried out by the Iranian authorities, a few hours after the announcement by the Islamic Republic of the hanging of two demonstrators.
Two men found guilty of participating in anti-government protests that shook the country between December and January have been hanged, Iranian justice announced.
The execution of Abolfazl Sepahi and Amir-Hossein Safari, after the “arbitrary execution of at least three other demonstrators last week, marks a new escalation in the authorities’ use of the death penalty to stifle dissent,” Amnesty reacted in a press release.
The human rights NGO said it feared “that at least 60 other people, including three arrested as minors, remain at risk of execution after being sentenced to death, while many others are being prosecuted on capital charges in connection with the protests.”
According to Mizan Online, an organ of Iran’s judiciary, the two men were found guilty of, among other things, “moharebeh (war against God) for brandishing weapons and sowing fear and terror” and “corruption on earth for committing acts that seriously disrupted public order and security in the country.”
The Iranian Mehr news agency specified that the hanging took place in “a square in the town of Malekshahr”, in the province of Isfahan (center), in the presence of witnesses.
Increase in hangings in Iran
UN experts called on Iran on Monday to overturn the death sentences handed down against 12 men – two of whom were executed on July 19 – in connection with the protests.
“Sentencing 12 people to death during the same hearing, behind closed doors and without the individual responsibility of each accused being clearly established, violates recognized standards of fair trial,” they said.
Executions have increased in the country since the start of the war triggered on February 28 by an American-Israeli offensive against Iran, many of those executed having been condemned for their participation in the demonstrations which began at the end of December.
The protest movement, initially triggered by the high cost of living, quickly transformed into large anti-government demonstrations, culminating on January 8 and 9.
The government acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel. NGOs based abroad say the repression has left thousands dead. According to NGOs, including Amnesty, Iran is the second country in the world that uses the death penalty the most, behind China.
