Tuesday , 15 October 2024

Gravestone of Executed Protesters Destroyed – Again

Iranwire – The father of Mohsen Shekari, a 22-year-old protester who was executed in December after an unfair trial, has said that his son’s gravestone has once again been vandalized.

The father of Mohsen Shekari, a 22-year-old protester who was executed in December after an unfair trial, has said that his son's gravestone has once again been vandalized

“My family and I have not returned and will not return to the normal life of the past after the loss of our beloved son. But now that we are suffering from our own pain some people do not leave us alone, like today when they damaged the tombstone of my dear son,” Masoud Shekari wrote in a social media post. “One does not know what to say to such people.”

Since Shekari’s execution on December 8, his father has sought justice for those killed by security forces during nationwide protests. He honored their memory by visiting the victims’ graves and expressing solidarity with their grieving families.

Shekari, 22, worked in a cafe in Tehran’s Haft Hoz neighborhood until his arrest during demonstrations in Sattar Khan Street on September 25. He was executed in the morning of December 17 on charges of “waging war against God” for allegedly stabbing a member of the paramilitary Basij force during a demonstration on September 23. His execution drew sharp condemnations both inside and outside Iran.

Shekari set fire to a garbage bin in Sattar Khan Street and wounded a Basij member in a clash. Based on these facts, many jurists consider his conviction on the charge of “waging war against God” to be illegal and unfair.

More than 520 people were killed during months of widespread demonstrations sparked by the September death of Mahsa Amini in police custody and over 20,000 others were unlawfully detained, activists say. 

Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences to protesters. Shekari was the first protester to be executed over the unrest.

0