CNN
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The execution of two youths in Iran on Saturday, one a karate champion and one a volunteer children’s coach, in connection with nationwide protests, has sparked outrage around the world. rice field.
Total number of people now known to have been executed in connection with the protests that have swept the country since the September 16 death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Martha Amini in moral police custody reached 4 people.
Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini were hanged early Saturday morning, state-run Fars News reported. The two, who were accused of taking part in last year’s anti-regime protests, were accused of killing Sayyed Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the Basij paramilitary force, in Karaj on November 3, according to Iranian justice news agency Mizan. Convicted.
Mohammad Hossein Agassi, the lawyer defending Karami, posted on Twitter on Saturday, saying that Karami had not been given the final right to speak to his family before his execution. It added that Karami launched a dry food hunger strike on Wednesday as a form of protest against officials who did not allow him to serve.
As many as 41 more protesters have been sentenced to death in recent months, but the number could be much higher, according to statements by both Iranian officials and Iranian media confirmed by CNN and 1500Tasvir. .
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the European Union (EU) have called on Iran to halt all executions following the hanging of the two men.
In a tweet on Saturday, OHCHR said it “deplores the execution of two more protesters #MohammadMehdiKarami and #MohammadHosseini after an unfair trial based on forced confessions.”
OHCHR called it “shocking” that Iran continues to execute protesters “despite international protests”.
The OHCHR added, “We urge Iran to stop all executions.”
In a statement on Saturday, the EU said it was “horrified” by the execution, calling it “a new sign of violent suppression of civilian demonstrations by the Iranian authorities”.
“The European Union reiterates its call on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the highly condemned practice of imposing and enforcing death sentences on protesters,” the statement said.
“The EU calls on the authorities to revoke without delay the recent death sentences already handed down in the context of the ongoing protests and to provide due process for all detainees,” it added.
The Norwegian-based nonprofit Iran Human Rights (IHR) also condemned the killings, warning in a statement on Saturday that “a large number of protesters will be executed in the coming days if there is no proper response.”
“The execution is a continuation of the killing of defenseless protesters in prison and has no legal basis,” Iran’s Human Rights Director-General Mahmoud Amily Moghadam said in a statement.
Several major Hollywood stars, including Cate Blanchett, Jason Momoa, Bryan Cranston and Olivia Wilde, called for an end to executions in Iran in an online campaign launched Friday.
Featuring more than 50 stars, the campaign features Iranian-American screenwriter and satirist Nicole Najafi, Iranian-American director, screenwriter and producer Ana Lilly Amirpour, and Iranian-American actress and author. was organized by Mozan Marno of
In a video posted online, the featured celebrity holds up a white piece of paper with the caption “#StopExecutionsinIran”.
The following messages are conveyed through on-screen text. Thousands of protesters were arrested. Some are already running. More people are at risk. But the world is watching. ”
The video concludes by encouraging viewers to take a picture of themselves with an autograph and post it online.
Karami, 21, was an Iranian-Kurdish karate champion with Olympic rings tattooed on the inside of his arm. His cousin told CNN that Karami was a brave and intelligent boy who started karate when he was 11 years old.
Last month, Karami’s parents posted a video on social media begging the country to spare his life. and was the fourth-ranked member of the Iranian national team.I ask you to lift the execution order.
Karami was convicted on December 5, less than a week after his trial began in Tehran on charges of killing paramilitaries. Amnesty International said the trial “did not resemble a meaningful judicial process”. His family claims he was tortured in prison and refused access to his lawyer.
Amnesty International quoted Karami’s father saying: I went to jail this morning, but the prosecutor who was stationed at the jail wasn’t there. I told you, they have no response to you.
“Every night I fear that I will receive news that my child has been executed,” said the father. “I have lost hope…they have sentenced my child to death and may carry out his execution at any moment.”
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, 20, was remembered for volunteering with children by the German MP who advocated for his case.
“The story of #SeyedMohammadHosseini is so sad. He lost both his parents. He visited their graves every Thursday. He tutors children for free,” said Ye-One Rhie. wrote on Twitter.
According to Ye-One Rhie, Hosseini was arrested on his way to visit his parents’ graves. His brother was also taken and has not heard from him, the MP said.
According to Amnesty International, Hosseini was convicted at the same trial as two other men, Hamid Galle Hassarou and Hossein Mohammadi, who were also sentenced to death.
Amnesty International said the conviction was based on a coerced confession.
“Before the class trial began, the state media broadcast the defendants’ coerced ‘confessions’, described them as ‘murderers’, presumed innocence, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading practices. violated their freedom from detrimental treatment,” Amnesty International said. I have written.
Meanwhile, Medhi Beikh, the political editor of the independent Iranian newspaper Etemad Online, was detained on Thursday, according to a tweet from the newspaper. The arrest comes after protests sparked by the death of her 22-year-old Masa, Amini, who was arrested last year by state moral police for not wearing the hijab properly. It took place during the crackdown. The protests then coalesced over various grievances against the dictatorship.
Beyk was detained by Iranian intelligence ministry officials, his wife, Zahra Beyk, said on Friday.
He was arrested after “interviewing several families who had been arrested at ongoing demonstrations,” according to the reformist activist news agency Iranwire.
The journalist’s “mobile phone, laptop and belongings have been confiscated,” his wife tweeted.
Iranian officials have previously arrested several people for criticizing the government’s handling of the demonstrations.
Taraneh Alidusti, one of Iran’s most famous actresses, was released on bail on Wednesday after being arrested for criticizing the execution of protesters, state-run ISNA said.
Known feminist activist Ali Dosti last month posted a photo on Instagram of herself removing her Islamic hijab and holding a sign reading “Women, Life and Freedom” to show support for the protest movement. bottom.
Alidosti was not formally charged, but was initially arrested for “no evidence of her claims” in connection with her protest against the hanging of Mohsen Shekari last month.
