Continued Protest Gatherings Amid Rising Execution Risks for Many Convicts

Domestic media and human rights organizations report various protest gatherings in at least 10 provinces across the country on Monday, May 15. According to the HRANA news agency, the news organ of human rights activists in Iran, on this day, families and relatives of prisoners sentenced to death gathered in front of the Judiciary building in Tehran. Concerned families, holding placards reading 'Do Not Execute' and chanting various slogans, demanded a halt to the execution of their loved ones. In recent days, the execution of death sentences in Iranian prisons has seen an upward trend. HRANA reported that between May 1 and May 10 of this year, at least 57 prisoners were executed for charges related to drug offenses, corruption on earth, blasphemy, and murder in various prisons across the country. On the evening of Sunday, May 14, a group of families of prisoners at risk of execution, along with a number of citizens, gathered in front of the 'Dastgerd' prison in Isfahan, demanding a halt to the execution of three defendants in the case known as 'Isfahan House'. Saleh Mirhashimi Beltaghi, Majid Kazemi Sheikh Shabani, and Saeed Yaqoubi Kord Safi are the defendants sentenced to death in the 'Isfahan House' case, whose death sentences were recently upheld by the 9th branch of the Supreme Court. The Free Union of Workers of Iran also announced that on Monday, May 15, a number of telecommunications retirees from the provinces of Khuzestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, North Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, Lorestan, Kurdistan, Markazi, and Isfahan separately gathered in front of the central buildings of these provinces in protest against the lack of attention to their demands. These protesting retirees demanded the 'full implementation of the employment regulations', full payment of welfare benefits and other wage arrears, as well as the complete execution of supplementary insurance and medical expenses. The Iranian Retirees Council also reported the continuation of the strike and protest of a group of workers from the Dasht Abbas oil company in Dehloran for the 26th consecutive day, stating that these protesting workers have not received their wages for months. According to the National Student Union, on Saturday, May 15, a group of musicians gathered in front of the House of Music in support of students from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tehran University. This gathering was held because on Saturday, May 13, security forces at Tehran University clashed with a group of music students and professors after entering the Faculty of Fine Arts. According to the student unions, during this clash, several students and professors were beaten, resulting in injuries, and some of their musical instruments were broken by security personnel. The musicians issued a statement condemning the violent behavior of the security forces at Tehran University towards the students and professors of music at this university.