Arsham Rezaei's Letter from Prison: The 'Medieval' Practice of Execution Must End

Arsham Rezaei, a civil and political activist imprisoned in Qazalhessar, announced in a letter sent to Voice of America that he has joined the 45th week of the 'Tuesdays Against Execution' campaign. This campaign consists of striking prisoners from over 22 prisons in Iran protesting against the implementation of death sentences. In his letter, Mr. Rezaei mentioned that during the first week he spent in solitary confinement, he witnessed the transfer of 12 prisoners sentenced to qisas (retribution), seven of whom managed to obtain a reprieve from the victim's family before the execution. He added that in the second week, seven more prisoners were transferred to his cell, two of whom had previously had their death sentences carried out but were given a second chance by the victim's family at the last moment and were revived. Rezaei wrote, 'This process was effectively torturing them.' Arsham Rezaei has also urged his friends in Evin prison to join the 'Tuesdays Against Execution' campaign to 'end this medieval practice.' This political prisoner emphasized that the high volume of executions has not only been deterrent but that crime rates in Iran have been increasing day by day. Arsham Rezaei, a constitutionalist activist, was arrested in October 2022 during widespread protests in Fardis, Alborz province, and has been in detention since. He is one of the political prisoners for whom Kianoush Sanjari had called for his release before his suicide in a protest act. Esfandiar Aban, a senior researcher at the Iran Human Rights Campaign, also stated in a special program on Voice of America that 'execution cannot be considered a punishment as it has no afterlife. Taking a person's life cannot prevent that person from committing a crime again, and statistics, for example regarding drugs, clearly show that executions have not significantly reduced the sale and distribution of drugs.' Human rights media have reported that the execution of prisoners charged with drug-related offenses has sharply increased every year over the past four years. While in 2022, a total of 256 people were executed on drug-related charges, this number rose by 84% in 2023 to 471 executions on these charges. Following the widespread protests of 'Women, Life, Freedom,' the Islamic Republic has intensified its crackdown on women and increased pressure on female political prisoners, issuing heavy sentences, including death sentences, for some of them. Several experts from the United Nations, coinciding with the International Day Against the Death Penalty on October 12, 2024, expressed concern over the rising number of executions in Iran and called for an immediate halt to such actions. Although some believe that the issuance of statements and condemnations by international bodies does not have a tangible impact on the repressive approach of the Islamic Republic, especially regarding death sentences, many human rights experts hold a different view. Pegah Bani Hashemi, a law researcher at the University of Chicago, stated in a special program titled 'The Dawn of Death; Why Iran is the Land of Executions?' aired on Voice of America on December 8, that today access to social media and the issuance of statements have brought human rights issues to the world's attention, marking a significant difference from the 1980s when the Islamic Republic executed thousands of political and ideological prisoners. Ms. Bani Hashemi emphasized that global statements and condemnations are impactful. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, director of Iran Human Rights, also stressed in this special program that the Islamic Republic executed stoning sentences decades ago, but due to international pressure and rising political costs, such executions cannot be carried out as before. He added that the impact of resolutions and condemnations from bodies like the United Nations raises the political cost and also influences the people and culture of society.