Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Monday, January 9, 2023. AP
They were found guilty of “Moharebeh”. [guerre contre Dieu, en persan] This is reported by the Iranian justice news agency Mizan Online. Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saïd Yaghoubi are accused of involvement in the deaths of three members of the security forces during demonstrations in the central province of Isfahan on November 16, 2022. On Monday they were sentenced to death in the first instance, the Iranian judiciary announced.
Two other people were sentenced to prison terms in the same trial. Among them, footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani, 26, who plays for a local club, was sentenced to 26 years in prison. But by law he should serve the longest of the sentences, which is sixteen years. All of the convictions announced on Monday can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
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The new convictions bring the number of death sentences linked to the protests sparked in Iran by the death of Mahsa Amini to seventeen, according to a count compiled by Agence France-Presse based on official communications.
Mahsa Amini died on September 16, 2022, three days after she was arrested by the vice squad for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code, which requires women to wear the veil in public.
Also read: Death of Mahsa Amini in Iran: Demonstrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the young woman’s death
“Without a doubt these acts are treason”
Iranian authorities generally refer to the protests as “riots” promoted by anti-Iranian countries and organizations. They claim that hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed and thousands arrested during the protests. Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei stressed on Monday that there are “undoubtedly economic problems” in the country. “But can these problems be solved by burning garbage cans and causing riots in the streets? And to add:
“Without a doubt, these acts are treason, and the relevant institutions treat treason seriously and fairly. »
Read the column: Article reserved for our subscribers “The Islamic Republic of Iran has only one answer to every dispute: it kills”
Europe condemns these executions
Of the 17 people sentenced to death since the protests began, four have been executed and two have been confirmed by the Supreme Court. The others are waiting for new processes or can appeal. The latest two executions announced on Saturday sparked an international protest: two men convicted of killing a paramilitary during the protests were hanged.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced on Monday that she had called the Iranian ambassador to Berlin “again” to protest against these executions. The diplomatic chief warned that she wanted to “make it clear that the brutal repression, repression and terror against the population, as well as the two most recent executions, will not remain without consequences”.
Other European countries such as France, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway have announced similar decisions. On Saturday, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt responded on Twitter, saying that “Norway strongly condemns Iran’s execution of protesters Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini.”
“We call on Iran to stop suppressing human rights. Norway is calling on Iran to respond to the protests with meaningful reforms and stop executions immediately. »
In Paris, the Foreign Ministry ruled that “death sentences and executions (…), which add to the many other serious and unacceptable violations of fundamental rights and freedoms committed by the Iranian authorities, cannot take the place of reaction to the legitimate aspirations of the Iranian people.” Freedom.” He announced on Monday that he would summon the Iranian chargé d’affaires to Paris “to express his “strongest condemnation” of the executions and the current repression in Iran.”
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On Monday, Pope Francis called for an end to the death penalty worldwide, including in Iran. “The death penalty cannot be used for so-called state justice because it does not deter or bring justice to the victims, only fuels a thirst for revenge,” he said. According to Amnesty International, Iran is the country, next to China, that executes the most death row inmates.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers Public executions in Iran to terrorize protesters and crush revolt