Iran is steadily arresting more people for their roles in the protests that have been sweeping across the country, charging them with crimes punishable by death — a strategy that human rights activists fear is being used to quell the movement.
Since the protests began in September, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody — the regime has arrested up to 14,000 people.
Iranian authorities continue to describe the demonstrations as “riots” and a plot against the Islamic Republic by its enemies, including the U.S.
The judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has said publicly that those arrested and put on trial are “affiliated with counter-revolutionary elements” and will be “punished according to the law”.
Earlier this month, 227 lawmakers from Iran’s 290-seat parliament voted for a motion urging the use of the death penalty in relation to the protests, calling on the judiciary to apply “an eye for an eye” retributive justice.
“We ask the judiciary to deal decisively with the perpetrators of these crimes and with all those who assisted in the crimes and provoked rioters,” said the lawmakers in a statement, according to state media.
Overnight, journalist Maziar Bahari told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that the uprising that is occurring is “….the culmination of 60 years of sexual suppression by Ayatollah Khomeini. Even before 1979. And since coming to power.”
“They have been suppressing women… Sex has become an instrument of suppression in the hands of the government.”
On Death Row
The Iranian judiciary have confirmed six individuals have been sentenced to death over their role in the demonstrations — though they have not named them because they do not want their names to be turned into rallying causes or hashtags on social media.
The six have been convicted either of “moharebeh” — enmity against God or “efsad-e fel arz” — corruption on earth — charges that are punishable by death.
Human rights activists have feared these charges would be used against opponents of the regime.
Amnesty International believes the nature of the charges means that those who have been sentenced so far can be identified; they include Mohammad Ghobadlou, whose mother, Masoumeh Ahmadi, has appeared on social media urging the regime to spare her son’s life and asking the public for help.
Amnesty said that under the regime’s sharia-related laws, a further twenty-one people currently on trial have been charged with crimes that can lead to a death sentence.
Among them is Farzaneh Ghare-Hasanlou and her husband Hamid Ghare-Hasanlou.
Tehran-based rapper, Saman Seydi (also known as Saman Yasin) has also been charged. The artist is from Iran’s Kurdish minority and is accused of supporting the protests on social media, firing into the air during a demonstration and harming Iran’s national security.
Since 29 October, Iran’s state media have reported on the trial of nine men on protest-related charges that may lead to the death penalty.
Another twelve individuals, including a woman, are also facing charges in connection with the protests.
Human rights campaigners fear that the authorities will execute protesters on vague charges connected to alleged rioting or attacks on security forces during the protests.
They are calling for joint action from the international community to stop the executions.
Last week, the director of IHR Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam told the World Congress against the Death Penalty in Berlin that “unless the international community sends a very, very strong signal to the Islamic Republic authorities, we will be facing mass executions.”
“Not just political executions,” he stressed. “…but the ones that cost the least politically, particularly drug-related charges”.
Amnesty International said the authorities’ quest of the death penalty is “designed to intimidate those participating in the popular uprising… and deter others from joining the movement”.
The tactic aims to “instill fear among the public”, it said, condemning a “chilling escalation in the use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression and the systematic violation of fair trial rights in Iran”.
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, has called on the Iranian authorities to immediately quash all death sentences and refrain from seeking the imposition of the death penalty.
“Drop all charges against those arrested in connection with their peaceful participation in protests,” she urged in a statement. “The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, its abhorrent nature further compounded by a fundamentally flawed criminal trials devoid of transparency or independence.”
“The crisis of impunity prevailing in Iran is enabling the Iranian authorities to not only continue carrying out mass killings but also to escalate the use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression.”
“Member states of the UN Human Rights Council holding a special session on Iran next week must urgently establish an investigative and accountability mechanism to address this all-out-assault on the right to life and other human rights.”
Iran’s history of capital punishment
The country of 85 million is one of the world’s most avid users of the death penalty, currently executing more people every year than any nation excluding China.
According to data from Amnesty International, Iran killed at least 314 people last year. Oslo-based human rights organisation, Iran Human Rights, says that so far this year, Iran has put to death 482 people.
Football Team defies regime
Public sports figures have come out in support of the protests, including the Iranian football team captain, Alireza Jahanbakhsh who told reporters after their opening match against England at the World Cup:
“We have to accept that conditions in our country are not right & our people are not happy,” he said. “They should know that we are with them. And we support them. And we sympathise with them regarding the conditions.”
“Whatever we have is from them and we have to fight, we have to perform the best we can and score goals and represent the people. I hope conditions change as to expectations of the people.”
Jahanbakhsh’s team mounted a remarkable challenge by refusing to sing their own national anthem at the World Cup, demonstrating their solidarity for the protests.
Outside the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar, protesters were heard chanting “Say her name, Mahsa Amini” while several fans wore shirts that read “Woman, Life, Freedom.”
On Thursday, the UN Human Rights Council is set to hold a rare special session on Iran, where they hope to adopt a resolution to hold the Islamic Republic accountable and address the worsening rights violations.