Status: 01/14/2023 05:55 am
In Iran, arrests and trials of dissident protesters are not abating. This cannot quell the protest. A realization from those affected: public pressure can work – and international aid.
By Katharina Willinger, ARD Studio Istanbul
Executions in Iran take place in the early hours of the morning, just after azan, the call to morning prayers. For weeks now, many Iranians have pulled out their cellphones with an anxious question: Has another death sentence been carried out?
BR Logo Katharina Willinger ARD Studio Istanbul
Four protesters have been executed since early December, most recently this past weekend – all young men accused by the regime of injuring or killing emergency services. Human rights organizations, on the other hand, speak of show trials, far removed from the basic principles of the rule of law.
Sponsorships must protect
Lists are circulating online of protesters who have been convicted or are threatened with the death penalty. On social networks, activists from several European countries mediate political sponsorship for parliamentarians, including in Germany. They, in turn, write to the Iranian authorities, demanding releases and legal assistance and lobbying. More than 250 politicians have already taken on this sponsorship.
“The regime is asking the prisoners’ families to keep quiet and not speak publicly,” said Mariam Claren, one of the organizers in Germany. Her mother, Nahid Taghavi, has been a political prisoner at Evin Prison in Tehran since autumn 2020.
Claren is of the opinion that making noise, publicity, protecting those affected, she had that experience in the fight for her mother. “That’s why it’s particularly important for politicians to use their influence and reach.”
Loud protest with effect
The case of two young Iranians whose execution, according to activists, was imminent a few days ago shows that the regime can be influenced by popular pressure.
According to eyewitnesses, crowds gathered outside the prison in the city of Karaj, northwest of Tehran, and loudly protested the impending executions. So far they have not been fulfilled.
journalists under pressure
Meanwhile, the government continues to crack down on journalists. Reporter Nassim Sultan Beygi was reportedly arrested at Tehran airport mid-week. Later, the message appears that she has been taken to the notorious Evin Prison and is being held in solitary confinement.
The NGO’s Committee to Protect Journalists has counted nearly 90 arrests of journalists since the protests began in September 2022, following the death of young Kurdish girl Jina Mahsa Amini.
Because the headscarf was too loose, the 22-year-old was arrested by the police station. She died in prison. Activists and the family blame police violence, but the state denies it.
Arrived in everyday life
Since then, there have been protests in Iran, for a long time violently and loudly in the streets, but now protest has found its way into the daily lives of many Iranians. This also includes the fact that in many cities women no longer wear headscarves. Knowing full well that this could continue to put her in great danger.
Just this week, the attorney general instructed the country’s authorities to take much more decisive action against violations of the Islamic dress code. New surveillance technologies such as video cameras in public spaces based on the example of China, a close ally, are constantly discussed.
Monitoring is already being carried out in traffic: women who drive without a headscarf are identified by the license plate and fines are sent via SMS.
Will there be more sanctions?
In the course of events, European politicians are again discussing sanctions against Iran. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced on Twitter that the pressure would increase primarily on the Revolutionary Guards – the elite military unit that is an economic empire and guardian of everything that happens in the Islamic Republic.
Because of her, the EU and the federal government were repeatedly criticized. Opposition and activists demand classification as a terrorist organization, as in the United States. Before the “listing”, but legal hurdles would have to be overcome, argues Baerbock. Contact was made with the EU to clarify the requirements.
Almost paradoxically, a report by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce appeared just a day after Baerbock’s remarks: Germany will also be Iran’s most important trading partner in Europe in 2022.