Human Rights Situation in May According to a Human Rights Organization; 'Escalation of Crackdowns' and 'Widespread Violations of Freedoms'

A human rights organization reported that with 114 executions recorded in May, alongside hundreds of human rights violations during the same period, there has been an intensification of security crackdowns and a continuation of widespread violations of freedoms in Iran. According to the human rights website 'Hrana', at least 114 executions were documented in May, reflecting a violation of the 'right to life' within the judicial system of the Islamic Republic. The report states that over 75% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or judicial authorities, which human rights organizations refer to as 'secret executions'. In this month, 13 political arrests occurred, including the arrest of Alireza Beheshti Shirazi and three members of the family of Majid Kazemi. The report also mentions multiple judicial sentences, including the convictions of Arash Sadeghi to four years and three months in prison, Sepideh Ghalean to two years in prison, Keyvan Samimi to six years in prison, Anisha Asadollahi to five years and eight months in prison, and Sepideh Roshno to two terms of educational expulsion. According to Hrana, during this month, the secretary of the Support Commission of the Central Bar Association stated that about seventy lawyers were summoned to the security prosecutor's office located in Evin Prison within twelve days. The president of Allameh Tabatabai University also emphasized the continuation of security crackdowns in universities, announcing the formation of 'disciplinary cases' against twenty students of this university due to their participation in nationwide protests and the expulsion of five students from their studies. According to this human rights organization, 'ethnic' groups were also under increasing pressure from arrests and summonses in May. The pressure and threats against religious minorities continued, and alongside the summonses and arrests, twelve businesses belonging to Baha'i citizens in the cities of Sari and Shahrekord were shut down by municipal officers. Additionally, contrary to Iran's international commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the section prohibiting the use of children in military affairs, the head of the Student Basij Organization in Qazvin stated that 'eight thousand male and female students will be sent to the shooting range for shooting and weapon training in May.' According to the report, ideological topics such as 'familiarization with the ideals of martyrdom' are taught to students during these sessions. In another part of the report, it is mentioned that nine teenage girls were arrested in Qom by security forces due to what official media termed 'unveiling and boyish attire' and were transferred to an unknown location. The head of the Cyber Police in Greater Tehran also reported the arrest of 40 individuals managing Instagram pages related to modeling, boutiques, and online shops for what was termed 'the publication of semi-nude and unconventional images of women'. In the case of voluntary hijab, Pantea Bahram and Katayoun Riahi were each fined one million and five hundred thousand tomans for appearing in public without a hijab, and legal cases were opened against Baran Kowsari and Shaghayegh Dehghan. According to Hrana, in the past month, 38 workers were involved in accidents due to a lack of safety in the work environment across the country. The report states that in May, the failure to observe safety regulations resulted in injuries to 22 workers and caused the deaths of 16 others. According to this human rights organization, at least 108 protests were held in May, including significant protests by workers from Yazd Tire Industries, Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company, gas industry workers, railway maintenance workers in Doroud Kerman, Pars Paper Company workers in Haft Tappeh, farmers in Lamerd, Imam Port municipality workers, firefighters in Mashhad, and bakers in Ardabil. The head of the Construction Workers' Union also reported that about 600,000 construction workers lack insurance despite over thirty years of work experience. According to the report published by Hrana, in May, twenty-six businesses in Kish Island, 21 businesses in Bushehr, 45 businesses in Kermanshah, 69 businesses in Isfahan, and seventy-eight businesses in Anzali were shut down. Saeed Peyvandi: Executions of defendants continue the government's policies on the streets of Iran. Six political prisoners: The escalation of violence, especially executions, will push society toward more violence. Sepideh Ghalean: In Iran, its poets sing the song of freedom in the streets and go to meet the bullets in hope of a new era. Statement by 174 civil activists: Executions are 'organized state murder'. Family members of Majid Kazemi, one of the executed in the 'Isfahan House' case, were arrested after being 'beaten'. Protests continue amid the rising risk of executions for many condemned individuals. The Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Anisha Asadollahi, a labor activist, to five years in prison. Judicial authorities executed 10 prisoners in Kerman, Khorramabad, and Sanandaj.