John Adoyi, PBA Journalism Mentee
As the anti-government protest in Iran rages on, human rights groups are calling on the international community to look into the issue of false trials and executions taking place in Iran.
The call comes as the Islamic Republic announced on Monday that it has carried out its second execution of a protester, Majidreza Rahnavard, days after it executed Mohsen Shekari.
According to reports, Majidreza Rahnavard, a 23-year-old man, was hanged early on Monday in the city of Mashhad and last Thursday, the first execution was of Mohsen Shekari, 23, in Tehran, the capital of the Islamic republic.
Both men were charged and executed for the crime of “enmity against God” after they were found to have attacked members of the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary force in Iran.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Norway-based Iran Human Rights group tweeted that the government of Iran has issued a dozen death sentences having detained thousands of protesters.
Mr. Moghaddam, issuing the warning on Monday said “There is a serious risk of mass-execution of protesters.”
Adding that the crime of executing protesters without fair trial “must be met with serious consequences for the Islamic Republic.”
Amnesty international in a statement released after the rushed execution of Mohsen Shekari said the act exposed the “inhumanity of Iran’s so-called justice system.”
“The international community must urgently call on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt all planned executions and stop using the death penalty as a tool of political repression against protesters in their desperate attempt to end the popular uprising,” it added.
The protest in Iran which has entered its third month, was sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in Police custody on 13 September.
She was arrested and detained by the Morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.
According to the Human Rights Activists’ News Agency (HRANA), the protest which has spread to all parts of the country has witnessed the death of at least 475 protesters in the hands of security forces and 18,240 more have been arrested, reporting that 61 security officials have also been killed.
The government in the Islamic Republic have called the protest a “riot” motivated by enemies of the country.
