Iran: Protests Continue Despite Death Penalty

Three months have passed since the protests in Iran over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Iranian Morale Police for not wearing her chador properly. For more than 90 days, the population of Iran, especially women and youth, have taken to the streets in the first instance to put women's rights on the table, and lately to destabilize the Islamic organization that governs the country, to the serious abuses that the police carry out every day and how they are repressing the population to the point of costing the lives of the protesters.

Of the nearly 470 civilian deaths, two were sentenced to be hanged. The first was 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari, who was taken to prison and later executed for wounding a Basiji (as a paramilitary group is known), in addition to being accused of causing terror in Tehran, the capital. This rebuke caused a stir at the national and global level, for which the protesters did not hesitate to continue with the protests.

This week the death, also by hanging, of Majid Reza Rahnavard, sentenced for the death of two Basijis, Iranian militants, through an 'express trial' where he was arrested on November 19, charged on November 24, was announced. and tried five days later. This case has been questioned by Amnesty International due to the speed of the process and the cruelty of how he was executed, in public, just like Mohsen.

Who Was The Most Recently Executed Iranian By Hanging?

Majid was a 23-year-old wrestler who had gained momentum as soon as the protests began in Iran to make the population aware of the evil that the government was doing to their nation. He also questioned on his social networks the actions of the police, morality, and the atrocities committed by the regime at the head of the Ayatollah.

'Enmity with God' was the charge on which he was sentenced to death ten days after he was arrested for killing two Basijis, a paramilitary organization formed by volunteers affiliated with the 1979 Islamic revolution. Majid did not get a fair trial. guarantees, he was not entitled to a lawyer, and when he was finally granted one, he sided with his opponent and failed to defend his client's interests, said Shadi Sadr, an Iranian lawyer and co-founder of Justice for Iran.

The Sentence Of Majid And Mohsen Could Be Repeated Again

After the world learned of Majid's execution, there is likewise a new case of hanging, that of the 26-year-old footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani.

'Treason against the homeland' is the charge for which Amir is accused after demonstrating on the street his support for the fight for women's rights and the fulfillment of human rights. One of the first organizations to show its support for the soccer player was FIFPRO, the international players' union, which demands that Amir's sentence be immediately removed.

In addition to Amir, Amnesty International has revealed the names of another 20 people who may be on a waiting list to be executed, all linked to the protests since September. Of those 20, eleven could already be sentenced to death, three may be tried for punishable charges and risk being sentenced to death, and six are awaiting trial.

Read also: Qatar: The debate on the conflict between Israel and Palestine is felt in the World Cup

Despite this alarming figure, AI states that thousands of people have been arrested and charged, so these 20 people may be the mouthpiece for all the persecution the regime has on its population.

Iran, A Country With Capital Punishment In The 21st Century

Sixty countries maintain and apply the death penalty and include it in their legislation, and another 35 invoke it in exceptional cases. Iran is part of the first group. In 2021 alone, there were at least 314 recorded executions in the Persian country, mostly from drug cases.

Now, in 2022, 251 people have been executed where 146 have been for murder and 86 for drug offenses. Most of these executions have taken place in prisons because, due to the pandemic, it had not been possible to resume capital punishment on public roads.

Iran provides for the death penalty to be carried out regardless of the seriousness of the crime, meaning a person can be sentenced to death for armed robbery to charges of 'enmity with God' or 'insulting the prophet of Islam'. '.

Strength, Repression, Or Weakness Of The Regime

From 1979 to date, the forces of the Islamic revolution seized power in Iran, interpreted the Qur'an in their way, and made the population slaves to its words. In 2022 with the assassination of Mahsa, the population has returned to the streets to demand a government for all without religion being a channel, a bridge, or an inspiration to sanction laws.

With the show of repression by the regime, such as capital punishment in public, they have done nothing more than convince the skeptical population to join the demonstrations to achieve the end of the Islamic Revolution, a revolution that, forty years ago, came to power through the youth of the time.

This has been a call to attention to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his organization, and his followers to become aware for a moment and understand that just as the population raised them to power, they can also lower them.