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Iranwire – Iranian authorities have executed three men accused of deadly violence during last year’s anti-government protests, despite public opposition and appeals by human rights groups.
Mizan, the judiciary’s website, announced that Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were executed on May 19 in Dastgerd prison in the central city of Isfahan.
Authorities claim they were implicated in the deaths of two members of the Basij paramilitary force and a law enforcement officer during nationwide protests in Isfahan in November.
Human rights groups say the three were deprived of access to their chosen lawyers, subjected to torture and pushed into “forced confessions.”
On May 18, Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghoubi appealed to the public for support in a handwritten note saying, “Don’t let them kill us.”
Human rights organizations condemned their executions, with the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group calling on the international community to “use all its powers to stop the Islamic Republic’s killing machine.”
The US envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, had called the imminent execution of the three men “an affront to the human rights and basic dignity of all Iranians” that showed the government “has learned nothing from the protests.”
Iran’s possible imminent execution of Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi is an affront to the human rights and basic dignity of all Iranians and shows the regime has learned nothing from the protests. #DoNotLetThemKIllUs 1/2— Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley (@USEnvoyIran) May 18, 2023
Campaigners have denounced the Islamic Republic’s escalation of executions in recent weeks and accused the authorities of using the death penalty as a means to intimidate Iranians.
Iranian authorities have cracked down hard on months-long nationwide protests sparked by the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody.
More than 520 people were killed during demonstrations and over 20,000 others were unlawfully detained, activists say. Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.
The demonstrations have subsided in recent weeks, but there are still sporadic acts of defiance, including the refusal of a growing number of women to wear the mandatory head covering in public places.
