Dozens of protesters in Iran are at risk of getting the death penalty

The Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights (IHR), which monitors human rights violations in Iran, has said in its latest report that at least 100 people may be sentenced to death in the country.

“The lives of at least 100 Iranian protesters are currently at risk because they too may be hanged soon,” the IHR said, based on pending cases against protesters arrested during nationwide protests in Iran. “

According to the IHR, at least 11 people have been sentenced to death, including five women. This month, two protestors, Mohsin Shikari and Majeed Raza Rahnoord, have been hanged. Both of them were 23 years old and were charged with crimes against the Iranian government.

Human rights activists say that the purpose of hanging the two protesters is to intimidate those protesting against the government’s decisions. He said that the Iranian authorities want to instill fear in the protesters by taking action against them.

IHR Director Mohammad Amiri Muqaddam said that those sentenced to death were given very limited access to the law. Most of the arrested protestors are facing severe mental and physical torture and forced confessions are being taken from them.

“By giving the death penalty and hanging some of them, the authorities are actually forcing people to remain confined to their homes,” he said. He said, “Although it is having some effect, we generally see that people are more angry than ever against the authorities and that the fear-mongering strategy has failed.”

The IHR says it is also highly likely that the number of people at risk of execution is much higher, as the minimum number of 100 people has come forward only because Iranian citizens have been silenced by fear and repression. are In its statement, the IHR appealed to the international community to take immediate notice of this dire situation and take measures against Tehran to make the Iranian government pay the political price of these executions.

Protests have been ongoing across the country since the death of 22-year-old Mehsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman, in the custody of the Iranian Moral Police in mid-September.

According to human rights groups, 476 people have been killed in these protests so far. Iran’s top security agency confirmed the death of more than 200 people, including security personnel, in early December. The United Nations said last month that more than 14,000 people have been arrested so far.

HRANA, a US-based human rights group, said in a report published on Monday that executions in Iran will increase by 88 percent in 2022 compared to last year, while the number of death sentences will increase by eight percent. The percentage has increased. Most executions were carried out for murder or drug offences.

According to the international human rights group Amnesty International, at least 314 people were hanged in Iran in 2021. Iran is second only to China in terms of executions.