The families of three Iranian protesters facing the death sentence have reported that they have been told there is no chance for an amnesty and that the city prosecutor of the central Iranian city of Isfahan “is seeking their execution.”
The relatives said they were informed by the Amnesty Commission of the judiciary on May 15 not to return to press their case as a decision had already been made. Later in the evening, Iranian state television rebroadcast parts of “confessions” made by Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi, and Saeid Yaqoubi.
The statements, which the families and human rights organizations say were likely made under duress, had previously been aired and appeared to have been shown to justify the penalties handed to the three, who were implicated in an incident on November 16, 2022, during which two Basij paramilitary force members and a law enforcement officer were fatally shot in Isfahan.
The clash occurred at the height of widespread protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September while she was in police custody for allegedly breaking Islamic hijab rules.
The opposition activist collective 1500tasvir reported on May 15 that families of the three have been told that they will be executed “in the next few days.”
Somayeh Kazemi, the sister of Majid Kazemi, said in a recent interview with the Tehran-based Shargh newspaper that she and other family members were allowed to meet Majid at the Central Prison of Isfahan on May 15.
“We went to see Majid. His condition and morale were good,” she said. “The time of execution is not known. Our lawyer has said that nothing is certain and anything is possible.”
On May 12, Amnesty International issued a statement saying the three protesters have been deprived access to their chosen lawyers and were pushed into “forced confessions.” Some groups have said the three were tortured while in detention.
Iran has seen a surge in executions in recent months, a trend that has drawn widespread domestic and international condemnation.
Amnesty said in an annual report on May 16 that Iran saw executions soar to 576 in 2022 from 314 the previous year. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group says that, so far this year, at least 243 people have been executed in Iran.
The UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, on May 9 called the statistics “frightening” and demanded a halt to executions by the Islamic republic. He said Iran has executed an average of 10 people per week this year.
Human rights activists say authorities in Iran are using the executions to try to “instill fear” in society rather than to combat crime.
Source » rferl