Iran Human Rights Organization Calls for Global Community Action Against the Islamic Republic

On Friday, the Iran Human Rights Organization issued a statement in response to the execution of three defendants in the 'Isfahan House' case, calling for the 'global community' to take action against the Islamic Republic for this 'criminal' act. The organization stated that the cases of Saleh Mirhashimi, Majid Kazemi Sheikh Shabani, and Saeed Yaqoubi Kord Safeli, who were 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.' The Iran Human Rights Organization noted that in these 'confessions,' parts of which were broadcast on the Islamic Republic's state television, they 'repeated a forced scenario' against themselves and their co-defendants. Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, the director of the Iran Human Rights Organization, stated, 'The execution of three protesters, which amounts to 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 global community for these crimes, the regime's killing machine will take countless lives of protesters.' He further stated, 'The Islamic Republic needs executions and intimidation to prolong its survival. Only high political costs can force the regime to retreat.' Additionally, Kambeiz Ghafouri, a journalist and member of the Iran Human Rights Organization, told the Persian section of Voice of America that aside from their fundamental opposition to the death penalty, they consider the execution of these three young protesters a sample of the Islamic Republic's extrajudicial killings. He pointed out that their death sentences were issued solely based on confessions obtained under torture and emphasized that pressure on the families of the defendants to force them to confess against themselves and others, along with violations of fair trial principles, deprivation of the right to access a chosen lawyer in the early stages of the trial, and ultimately the hasty and flawed drafting of the verdict, indicate that this ruling is not the product of a judicial process but rather a security plan aimed at intimidating society and instilling fear. Ghafouri stated that the Islamic Republic has shown that it only retreats 'under severe pressure' and that a serious reaction from Iranians and the global community could prevent 'further massacres of the people' by this regime. If the Islamic Republic does not pay a 'heavy price' internationally, its killing and repression machine will continue to operate 'with greater intensity.' Earlier, Diana Tahavi, the Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, condemned the 'forced confessions under torture' and the 'lack of evidence' against these three protesters as another example of the 'shameful disregard of Iranian officials' for the 'right to life and fair trial,' calling the execution of these three individuals 'revenge against a brave generation of protesters.' Meanwhile, 250 political and civil activists on Friday, May 29, following a new wave of arrests and death sentences issued by the Islamic Republic, called for the 'immediate abolition of the issuance and execution of any death penalty, execution, retribution, and prohibition of any form of psychological and physical torture' in Iran. Other demands from the signatories include the 'immediate and unconditional' release of all political prisoners, the prohibition of 'criminalizing' political, professional, and civil activities, and 'public trials' of those who ordered and carried out the suppression of popular protests. The Iranian Writers' Association also called on 'human rights defenders and like-minded organizations' worldwide on May 28 to 'clearly' express their opposition to the 'new wave of executions' in Iran and to use all their resources to stop the 'repression machine of the Islamic Republic.' Mehrangiz Kar stated, 'We do not call for foreign intervention, but the brave people of Iran need international support.' 250 political and civil activists called for the immediate abolition of the death penalty in Iran. The U.S. stated that executing individuals after sham trials is an insult to human rights and human dignity in Iran and the world.