Urgent action demanded over recent executions

8th January 2023

Press release

For immediate use

The Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR) condemns the latest executions carried out by the ruling dictatorship on 7 January in Iran.  The two men executed, by hanging – Mohammad Mehdi Karami, 22, and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, 39 – were originally arrested in connection with street protests following the death in detention of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a young woman visiting Tehran with her family.

Ms. Amini was detained by the regime’s morality police for allegedly breaking the rules on what the regime deems to be appropriate dress for women in public.

Since the death of Ms. Amini last September; Iranian people, with women and youth often at the forefront, have been taking to the streets across the country, despite the growing threats and brutal suppression carried out by the security forces who are acting on the commands of the regime’s leaders.

According to the latest statistics from human rights organisations, at least 500 people, including 57 minors, are known to have been killed and hundreds more injured and maimed in the current wave of unrest.  Around 18,000 have been arrested in connection with the protests during the same period.

The recent executions follow those of two other men hanged in December, Mohsen Shekari and Majid-Reza Rahnavard, both just 23 years old.  14 others have been sentenced to death and are at imminent risk of execution – including Mohammad Boroughani, 19, and Mohammad Ghobadlou, 22 – while more than 100 are facing charges that could carry the death penalty.

The executions follow what has become a tragically familiar pattern in Iran where the accused have no access to lawyers or family members and are subject to beatings and torture while in prison.  

The so-called trials in Iran continue to fall well below international legal standards even though the authorities in Iran have insisted that all of those convicted would have the chance to appeal against their charges and sentences. 

Despite the international outcry which followed the news of the December executions, senior Islamic Republic officials have called upon judges to apply more of these capital charges to the protesters brought before them and to move swiftly to carry out the death sentences upon those convicted on such grounds.

The latest two executions, on Saturday morning, are evidence of the fact that this call is being acted upon by the Islamic Republic. 

CODIR Assistant General Secretary, Jamshid Ahmadi, has expressed condemnation of the executions and the complete lack of anything resembling due process in Iran.

“These deaths demonstrate once again that the Iranian regime has no interest in justice but is only concerned with retribution.  These executions are designed to instil fear in the people of Iran, stem the tide of protest, and subjugate the democratic rights of all citizens,” he said.  “CODIR will continue to highlight the anti-people actions of the theocratic dictatorship in Iran and reassert our ongoing commitment to support the popular struggles of the Iranian people to move towards the establishment of a modern, secular, and democratic government.”   

CODIR has called for all forces committed to peace, progress, and supporting the struggle for human and democratic rights in Iran, to condemn the recent executions through the issuing of statements in solidarity with those campaigning for peace and justice in Iran.

CODIR requests that trade union affiliates write to the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran to make clear their opposition to the recent executions and the lack of a fair judicial process.  CODIR is also requesting that affiliates actively condemn the repression and terror being inflicted upon the long-suffering people of Iran for merely daring to voice their defiance and opposition to the cruel policies of the ruling regime. 

CODIR is also asking for individuals to write to their local MP, drawing their attention to the worsening situation inside Iran and requesting that they write to the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran on similar grounds, as well as using their platform in Parliament to draw attention to the plight of the people of Iran.

ENDS

Further information for Editors

Contact Information for CODIR:-

Postal Address:
B.M.CODIR
London
WC1N 3XX
UK
Website: www.codir.net
E-mail: codir_info@btinternet.com

Further information on CODIR

CODIR is the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights.  It has been established since 1981 and has consistently campaigned to expose human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

CODIR has worked closely with the trade union movement in the UK, the peace movement, all major political parties and Amnesty International to press the case for an end to torture in Iran’s prisons.  Major trade unions in Britain are affiliated to CODIR and support its campaign for peace, human and democratic rights, and social justice in Iran.

CODIR has published Iran Today, its quarterly journal, since 1981, explaining the latest developments in Iran and the most effective way that the British public opinion could demonstrate its solidarity with the people of Iran.

In recent years CODIR has worked closely with Stop the War Coalition and has been vocal against any form of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of the nation.

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