Execution of 'Isfahan House' Defendants; German Representative in European Parliament: The World Must Wake Up

Mizan, a news agency affiliated with the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, announced on Friday, May 29, that Saleh Mirhashimi, Majid Kazemi Sheikh Shabani, and Saeed Yaqoubi Kord Safeli, defendants in the 'Isfahan House' case, were executed early on Friday, May 29. These three individuals were accused of killing two Basij members and a police officer, allegations they and their families had repeatedly denied. The defendants also claimed they were coerced into making televised confessions after extensive torture. Mohammad Hashemi, a cousin of Majid Kazemi, tweeted on Friday that 'after killing Majid, his brother Mohsen Kazemi was arrested just a few minutes ago.' Security and judicial officials of the Islamic Republic have not commented on this matter. Hashemi also reported that the bodies of the three individuals were buried in three different locations. He had previously tweeted: 'Majid, Saleh, and Saeed are to be buried in the Habibabad cemetery in Isfahan, near Zeynabieh, in silence and by the forces of the Islamic Republic.' Reactions to the execution of the 'Isfahan House' defendants include Hassan Nayeb Hashem, a human rights activist residing in Vienna, who responded to the execution by saying: 'The Islamic Republic of Iran, rightly named the Republic of Executions by the people, has today stained its hands with more blood.' He referred to the 'efforts of citizens in Isfahan and other parts of Iran and abroad, including protests in front of the United Nations in Vienna,' adding that these actions 'may have only added a day to their lives, but the mercenaries of the judiciary and security apparatus of the Islamic Republic were determined to take revenge by executing three individuals for the three killed in the Isfahan House case.' Nayeb Hashem emphasized that 'fair trial' has no meaning for the Islamic Republic and they might have executed three more innocent people instead. He described the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic as 'the modern-day Zahhak,' insisting that Ali Khamenei persists in continuing his 'barbaric methods.' This human rights activist warned of the 'acceleration of the Islamic Republic's killing machine in arbitrary, extrajudicial, and rushed executions,' fearing that the number of executions this year might break recent records in Iran. Nayeb Hashem believes that the Islamic Republic sees 'execution therapy' as a way out of the numerous crises facing the country, mistakenly thinking that through intimidation, it can revert trends to the time before the onset of the new Iranian revolution. He stressed that the people see the way out of the country's structural crises as passing through the Islamic Republic, which is manifested in the slogans 'We don't want the Islamic Republic' and 'Resistance until the end.' Nayeb Hashem noted the approximately 240-day sit-in in front of the entrance of the United Nations headquarters in Vienna, stating: 'We consider ourselves a small part of the activists seeking fundamental changes in our country.' The Iran Human Rights Organization also issued a statement on Friday in response to the execution of the three defendants in the 'Isfahan House' case, calling for the 'international community' to confront the Islamic Republic for this 'criminal act.' The organization noted that the cases of these three individuals, accused of 'moharebeh' (waging war against God), were 'full of flaws and ambiguities' and were based solely on 'confessions obtained under torture against themselves and each other,' and that in these 'confessions,' parts of which were broadcast on the Islamic Republic's state television, they 'repeated the imposed scenario' against themselves and their co-defendants. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, director of the Iran Human Rights Organization, stated: 'The execution of three protesters, which counts as extrajudicial killings, are crimes for which the regime's officials, especially Ali Khamenei, must be held accountable.' He added: 'If the Islamic Republic does not face heavy costs from the Iranian people and the international community for these crimes, the regime's killing machine will take countless protesters' lives.' He further stated: 'The Islamic Republic needs executions and intimidation to prolong its survival. Only high political costs can force the regime to retreat.' The execution of the three prisoners in the 'Isfahan House' case has faced severe global condemnation. In one of the first reactions, Hannah Neumann, a German representative in the European Parliament, tweeted calling for serious reactions from world leaders. She wrote: 'They have been executed. All three of them; despite protests outside the prison and around the world.' She urged the world to wake up and 'place the IRGC on the terrorist list and halt negotiations over the JCPOA.' Neumann emphasized: 'Normalization of relations cannot occur with a regime that kills its youth.' Martina Renner, a representative of the Left Party in the Bundestag and political sponsor of Saleh Mirhashimi, also tweeted: 'The news of the murder of Saleh Mirhashimi shocked me and my team. This anger is mixed with a sense of helplessness. We bow to the courage of the Iranian resistance and will strive to play an active role so that the survivors can live in a free Iran.' Norbert Röttgen, a representative of the Christian Democratic Union in the German Parliament, also reacted to the execution of the defendants in the Isfahan House case, writing: 'No one knows if they could have been saved or not, but Germany and the European Union did not even try in this case.' He addressed the German Foreign Minister, stating: 'Ms. Baerbock must finally find words for the horror happening in Iran. Silence is not politics!' Additionally, Ye Wanri, a representative of the Social Democratic Party in the Bundestag and political sponsor of Tomaj Salehi, condemned the execution of the three defendants in the Isfahan House case, writing: 'They did it. They killed three more men. The Iranian regime has once again proven that they are nothing but terrorists.' The three executed protesters had requested help from the 'people of Iran' in a message from inside the Dastgerd prison in Isfahan on Wednesday, May 27, and social media users responded positively to their plea by trending the hashtag 'Don't let them kill us.' Despite some denials from the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, an informed source had told the Persian section of 'Voice of America' on April 24 that officials had informed Majid Kazemi's family that they would execute the three detained protesters within 'the next two or three days.' In recent days, human rights organizations worldwide have criticized the issuance of death sentences for Saleh Mirhashimi, Majid Kazemi Sheikh Shabani, and Saeed Yaqoubi Kord Safeli.