In a powerful display of support for human rights, the City Hall of the 17th Arrondissement of Paris unveiled a banner on December 10, 2024, in observance of Human Rights Day. The banner, featuring the images of 11 political prisoners condemned to death in Iran, condemned the regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent and the alarming rise in executions.
This initiative follows the call from now more than 650 French mayors in solidarity with the global campaign against executions in Iran. The banner prominently highlights the names of 11 prisoners—Abolhasan Montazeri, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani-Amirian, Babak Alipour, Akbar Daneshvar Kar, Mohammad Taghavi, Risha Moradi, Pakhshan Azizi, Mehdi Hasani, Javad Vafaei Sani, and Behrouz Ehsani—who are facing imminent execution under the oppressive regime of Iran.
The installation of the banner comes after widespread international concern about the surge in executions in Iran, with Amnesty International reporting that Iran accounted for 74% of all global executions in 2023. As of early 2024, more than 850 executions have taken place in the country, many of which targeted political activists and protesters, including individuals arrested during the November 2022 uprisings.
La Mairie du 17e se mobilise pour les droits de l’Homme en Iran 🇮🇷
À l’occasion de la Journée internationale des droits de l’Homme, une bâche est apposée sur la façade de la Mairie pour dénoncer les 850 exécutions en Iran depuis le début de 2024. 🕊#Paris17 #Iran pic.twitter.com/BTU2YbNVJR
— Mairie du 17e (@Mairie17) December 10, 2024
The installation ceremony was attended by prominent figures, including Geoffroy Boulard, the Mayor of the 17th Arrondissement, and Jean-François Legaret, former Mayor of Paris’s 1st Arrondissement. Both leaders shared impassioned remarks denouncing the Iranian regime’s use of executions as a tool of political repression.
In his address, Mayor Boulard remarked, “These executions are crimes against humanity. On Human Rights Day, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting a free, democratic Iran, one that respects fundamental human rights.” He condemned the Iranian regime’s continued use of the death penalty as a method of instilling fear and silencing opposition, highlighting the case of Reza Rasaei, a political dissident executed following the protests of November 2022.
Boulard also emphasized France’s pivotal role in defending human rights globally, noting, “We cannot remain silent in the face of such brutality. We must support the brave voices who risk their lives to say no to the death penalty.”
Iran’s regime sentences six political prisoners to death https://t.co/emPdK1mNna
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 1, 2024
Jean-François Legaret, also an advocate for the initiative, added, “This is a symbol of our unwavering support for the Iranian people’s fight for democracy and justice. The international community must act decisively against this regime, which continues to break human rights records.”
In an exclusive interview with Simay Azadi, Mayor Boulard also expressed solidarity with the political prisoners in Iran, particularly those involved in the “Tuesdays Against the Death Penalty” hunger strikes. “We stand with the prisoners on death row in Iran and with those in prison who are courageously resisting these inhuman executions,” Boulard stated. “This movement sends a powerful message to the Iranian regime—it must end.”
The installation of the banner, along with the ongoing campaign led by French mayors, underscores the growing international movement calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Iran and greater accountability for the regime’s human rights violations.
