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Human Rights Advocates Call for Action Against Iran’s Execution Crisis

On January 21, 2025, Iran Human Rights Monitor (Iran-HRM) hosted a conference commemorating the first anniversary of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” hunger strike movement. The event featured Herta Däubler-Gmelin, former German Minister of Justice; Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian senator; Tahar Boumedra, President of Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI); and Elisabetta Zamparutti, a member of the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture. Speakers called for international accountability and an end to the Iranian regime’s escalating execution practices.

Herta Däubler-Gmelin condemned Iran’s use of executions as a political tool, urging global intervention. “We demand that Mehdi Hasani and Behrouz Ehsani be freed and taken off death row,” she declared, highlighting the regime’s record of 993 executions in 2024. She emphasized the regime’s desperation to suppress dissent and called for an international response, saying, “The mullah regime is lashing out, tying Iran to global threats through alliances with authoritarian regimes like Russia.”

Tahar Boumedra called Iran’s execution practices a gross violation of international law, labeling them crimes against humanity. “The death penalty is a political tool used to silence dissent,” he explained, citing unfair trials lasting mere minutes. Boumedra urged the international community to hold Iranian officials accountable through international courts and universal jurisdiction. “Judges and officials must face justice for their role in these atrocities,” he asserted, emphasizing the importance of civil society in amplifying victims’ voices.

Ingrid Betancourt described Iran’s execution spree as a calculated strategy to maintain power. “Executions are not just a political instrument—they are the regime’s only means of control,” she said. Betancourt urged the world to recognize the regime’s collapse, stating, “A government that kills and imprisons its citizens in such numbers is a failed regime.” She called for decisive international action to support Iranian Resistance efforts, highlighting the global responsibility to confront Tehran’s repression.

Elisabetta Zamparutti decried the regime’s execution of nearly 1,000 people in 2024, calling it “a pillar of the regime’s survival strategy.” She expressed solidarity with prisoners on death row, stating, “The death row in Iran is the darkest place in the world.” Zamparutti highlighted cases like that of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hasani and drew parallels to the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. “We must amplify awareness of this regime’s brutality and increase international pressure,” she concluded.

The speakers collectively demanded that Western nations condition relations with Iran on tangible human rights improvements. They stressed the need for global solidarity to end executions, support political prisoners, and confront Tehran’s oppressive regime.

Online Conference:The Anniversary of the 'No to Execution Tuesdays' Hunger Strikes in Iran’s Prisons