Campaign to Defend Sharifeh Mohammadi: Demand for Abolishing the Death Penalty is a Strong No to Government Murder

The Campaign to Defend Sharifeh Mohammadi, a labor activist sentenced to death, announced on Tuesday, October 9, 2023, in a statement on the occasion of "October 10, World Day Against the Death Penalty," that the growing calls for the abolition of the death penalty represent a strong rejection of government-sanctioned murder. The statement also noted: "The demand for the abolition of the death penalty, including the protest against the death sentence of Sharifeh Mohammadi and other activists condemned or at risk of being sentenced to death, has now turned into a social demand and a strong no to government murder, voiced by civil, social activists, retirees, workers, and artists." The Campaign to Defend Sharifeh Mohammadi further stated: "As the Campaign to Defend Sharifeh Mohammadi, we consider ourselves part of the No to Death Penalty movement, a movement that reminds us that each of us is responsible for striving to end this medieval and regressive punishment and to defend the right to life, which is the most fundamental human right." A group of human rights organizations and activists on Tuesday, October 9, supported the campaign in a 24-hour live program, opposing the issuance and implementation of death sentences by the Islamic Republic in Iran, coinciding with the 37th week of hunger strikes by prisoners in the Black Tuesdays campaign. Simultaneously, the 37th round of hunger strikes by prisoners in the "No to Death Penalty Tuesdays" campaign took place in 22 prisons across Iran. Sharifeh Mohammadi was arrested in December 2023 and sentenced to death on July 4, 2024, by the Revolutionary Court of Rasht on charges of "Baghi" (rebellion). This sentence was issued based on accusations from the Ministry of Intelligence regarding Ms. Mohammadi's alleged membership in "Komala," which has been strongly denied by Ms. Mohammadi, her husband, Siros Fathi, and the Komala Party. The Iran Human Rights Association announced on October 8 that according to registered statistics, at least 370 people were executed in various prisons of the Islamic Republic during the first six months of 2024. However, this organization stated that the actual number of executions by the Islamic Republic is higher than the recorded statistics due to secret executions. A joint statement from a group of human rights activists and the Boroumand Foundation indicated that a decade-long record of executions in Iran has been broken. Support for the "Black Tuesdays" campaign was expressed in a virtual meeting against the death penalty. The "No to Death Penalty Tuesdays" campaign reported 30 executions in two days. An analysis by a human rights organization discussed the reasons for the increase in executions in the Islamic Republic; 370 executions in the first six months of the current year. Calls for international sanctions and prosecution of judges issuing death sentences for four Kurdish political prisoners were made. The execution of Mahmoud Mehrabi, a political prisoner, was annulled by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic. The implementation of death sentences in the prisons of the Islamic Republic continues.