{"id":245068,"date":"2021-08-16T09:31:09","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T14:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=245068"},"modified":"2023-01-30T13:00:40","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T12:00:40","slug":"surge-of-executions-in-iran-foretell-more-human-rights-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/human-rights\/surge-of-executions-in-iran-foretell-more-human-rights-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"Surge of Executions in Iran Foretell More Human Rights Violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Raisi-outcome\"<\/p>\n

On Sunday, August 8, three days after Ebrahim Raisi<\/a> was inaugurated as the\u00a0regime\u2019s new\u00a0president,\u00a0the clerical regime<\/a>\u00a0out nine executions at three prison facilities. Another hanging on Monday brought the total to at least 22 for the month of August, and more than 200 since the beginning of the year. Forty-eight death sentences have been implemented in July, during which time three human rights attorneys were accused of spreading propaganda and plotting to overthrow the ruling system, then handed multi-year prison sentences.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of the Iranian judiciary\u2019s actions represent longstanding trends in Iran under the mullahs\u2019 regime which is widely recognized for its highest rate of executions per capita. Tehran routinely rebuffs international criticism of these numbers as well as its overall human rights record, often levying irrelevant accusations against \u201cglobal arrogance\u201d in an effort to distract attention from the regime\u2019s open reliance on capital punishment in cases that clearly do not meet international standards.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At times, the\u00a0regime\u2019s\u00a0judiciary has delayed the implementation of death sentences or even publicly vowed to re-examine politically motivated cases under intense international pressure. But in almost every case, the\u00a0regime\u00a0proceeds with the pre-determined punishment soon after the outcry has died down.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the case, for instance, during the latest wave of executions, when the regime carried out the hanging of Sajad\u00a0Sanjari\u00a0in accordance with his 2012\u00a0alleged\u00a0murder conviction<\/a>. At the time of his arrest,\u00a0Sanjari\u00a0was only 15 years old, making his capital sentence a very clear violation of international law.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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In this way,\u00a0Sanjari\u2019s\u00a0case was reminiscent of that of\u00a0Reyaneh\u00a0Jabbari, a young woman who was infamously hanged in 2014 for fatally stabbing her would-be rapist, whose affiliation with the\u00a0regime\u2019s\u00a0Intelligence Ministry guaranteed that she would not receive a fair trial.\u00a0Sanjari\u00a0was originally scheduled to be executed in 2017, but as happened multiple times with Jabbari, the hanging was delayed indefinitely in the face of international outcry.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Tehran has dismissed similar statements on many occasions over the years, with the regime\u2019s own so-called human rights monitor arguing that the\u00a0regime\u2019s\u00a0judiciary is not obliged to adhere to international human rights principles if they are at odds with the country\u2019s own laws or the regime\u2019s ultra-hardline interpretation of Shiite Islam. During the year 2020, at least five other executions of juvenile offenders were carried out, and it is possible that others went unreported on account of the regime\u2019s penchant for secrecy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Weekly-Signe-up-logo-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Of the more than 200 executions known to have been carried out in Iran so far this year, only five of them were actually announced via the regime\u2019s extensive state media apparatus. All others were brought to the awareness of human rights defenders by independent media outlets and local Iranian activists. Many of those activists have also pointed to the apparently ongoing acceleration in the pace of executions and concluded that it is a sign of the emerging influence of\u00a0the regime\u2019s\u00a0new president.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ebrahim Raisi was\u00a0selected to that position on June 18 following by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the ultimate authority in\u00a0the regime.\u00a0But\u00a0the vast majority of\u00a0the population boycotted\u00a0the sham\u00a0election<\/a> in protest over Raisi\u2019s more than 30-year history of severe human rights abuses. In the summer of 1988, he became a major figure in the Tehran \u201cdeath commission\u201d that oversaw a massacre of approximately 30,000 political prisoners.\u00a0In late 2019 and early 2020, as judiciary chief, Raisi also played a leading role in a crackdown on nationwide protests, which saw 1,500 individuals killed in a matter of days and thousands of others tortured over a period of months.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Raisi\u2019s time as the nation\u2019s top law enforcement official also saw the beginning of the broader trends which are continuing with the current surge of executions. As well as implementing death sentences more quickly than in the preceding years, Raisi\u2019s judiciary broadened the application of capital sentences, effectively reversing earlier reforms to the country\u2019s sentencing guidelines for non-violent drug crimes and issuing the first death sentence in years for someone accused only of consuming alcohol.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, in light of Raisi\u2019s legacy of human rights violations, the greatest concerns surrounding his promotion are related to the suppression of dissent and the violent punishment of persons affiliated with opposition groups like the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran. That organization was the prime target of the 1988 massacre<\/a>, having been directly named in the fatwa which the regime\u2019s founder Ruhollah Khomeini used to set the stage for the killings.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting on his role in the 1988 massacre in recent years, Raisi has openly defended Khomeini\u2019s declaration that the systematic execution of PMOI members is part of \u201cGod\u2019s command.\u201d Such statements demonstrate Raisi\u2019s obvious expectation of impunity in such matters, while his appointment as president demonstrates a similar expectation on the part of Khamenei and the\u00a0regime as a whole. In fact,\u00a0Amnesty International condemned this very thing in a statement issued the day after Raisi\u2019s election.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The human rights organization\u2019s Secretary-General Agn\u00e8s Callamard wrote: \u201cThat Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, and torture is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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As Head of the Iranian Judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi has presided over a spiralling crackdown on human rights which has seen hundreds of peaceful dissidents, human rights defenders and members of persecuted minority groups arbitrarily detained. https:\/\/t.co\/Ry0F3vIkql<\/a><\/p>\n

— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) June 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n