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Iran Genocidal Regime Hangs Protester on the Eve of International Human Rights Day

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On the eve of International Human Rights Day, Iran’s genocidal regime hanged Mohsen Shekari, a young, arrested protester, on the charges of “Moharebeh,” or waging war on God, for blocking the road and setting a trash can on fire.  

Following weeks of torture, Mohsen and a dozen other Iran uprising arrestees were sentenced to death for simply asking for freedom and democracy.  

The Iranian regime’s constitution allows arbitrary arrest and killing of citizens under various pretexts. Yet, Moharebeh is defined by immediate execution. According to the 38 Islamic Penal Code 1991, Article 211, 39 Islamic Penal Code 2013, Articles 278 and 375, Moharebeh is defined as “drawing a weapon on the life, property or chastity of people or to cause terror as it creates the atmosphere of insecurity.” 

Of course, the defendant should cause terror for the ruling theocracy or pose a threat to the establishment because the regime itself creates insecurity for the public.  

The real reason for Moharebeh is defined by article 17 of the Criminal Law of the Armed Forces, which stipulates that any individual, namely military personnel, who plans or acts to overthrow, change, or annihilate the Islamic Republic or form a group with these goals is conserved “Mohareb.”  

While allowing the appeal, the regime’s so-called Islamic Penal Code closes any way for amnesty and deprives the victim of due process by rejecting their denial of the alleged crime of Moharebeh.  

This was what happened in the case of Mohsen Shekari. According to the state media, the regime’s Supreme Court had rejected his lawyer’s appeal citing his forced confession to contributing to the “group of rioters, blocking the road, and threatening the security forces with a knife.”  

Mohsen, 23-year-old, was arrested on September 25, a few days into the nationwide uprising which began following the death of a young Kurdish girl in police custody. Demonstrations soon turned political, with people clashing with security forces and calling out to the entire regime, particularly the supreme leader Ali Khamenei. 

Khamenei soon ordered his forces to instigate violence by killing protesters and conducting arbitrary mass arrests. Thousands of unarmed protesters like Mohsen were arrested, and hundreds were killed. Despite its heavy quash, Iran’s ruling theocracy failed to control the uprising or quell the restive society.  

Seeing his regime’s future at stake, Khamenei has rushed to the scene eight times, vowing to harshly oppress freedom-loving Iranians, whom he blatantly calls “rioters” and “criminals.” 

“The judiciary should punish rioters according to the level of their involvement in jeopardizing the streets’ security,” he said on October 3.  

“We will certainly not let them go. The system will certainly punish all these criminals. Whoever had contact with them would be undoubtedly punished,” Khamenei said on November 2.  

“We won’t forgive these rioters. No. These rioters and terrorists should be punished,” he said on November 19.  

Since Khamenei is the regime’s top authority and based on his words, he should be considered the main criminal behind the regime’s killing spree, particularly Mohesn’s execution. After miserably failing to break the wave of dissent through direct shootings and mass arrests, Khamenei resorted to hanging in a bid to test both the society and the international community’s reaction.  

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), described the inhuman execution of the uprising’s martyr Mohsen Shekari as a sign of desperation of Khamenei and the clerical regime in the face of the uprising and the democratic revolution and their fear over the prospect of being toppled.  She said that this heinous crime will fuel people’s anger. Courageous protesters and the youths of Sattar Khan (Street) will not leave it unanswered.

She urged the United Nations, the European Union, their member states, and human rights advocates to strongly condemn the execution of the 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari and take effective and concrete measures against the religious fascism ruling Iran.

The Iranian people quickly reacted by continuing their protests a few hours after Mohsen’s martyrdom on December 8. Defiant youth blocked Satarkhan Street, where Mohsen was arrested, and they clashed with security forces.  

Mohsen’s execution, carried out in silence, also met international outrage and condemnations. Although valuable, these condemnations came too late, as Mohsen’s execution and the pending hanging of many more arrestees could have been avoided.  

Execution has been the religious fascism tool to fortify its ominous rule in the past four decades. In the summer of 1988, 30,000 political prisoners were hanged. Over 120,000 people have been sent to the gallows in the last forty years.  

Mohsen’s tragic death should be a wake-up call for Western democracies which cherish human rights to cut ties with Tehran and hold the regime accountable for four decades of crimes against humanity. They should also recognize the Iranian people’s right to self-defense vis-à-vis the mounting state violence.