Public Execution for 'Corruption on Earth'; Maragheh Prosecutor: It Was for 'Prevention'

On Thursday, June 4, judicial officials of the Islamic Republic executed a prisoner in public in the city of Maragheh. The prosecutor of Maragheh claimed that the aim of this action was 'prevention.' Images released by official news sources from Iran show that this execution took place in front of citizens, including young children. The prosecutor stated that the execution of this prisoner was carried out 'with the aim of prevention' in one of the squares of the city in East Azerbaijan province in northwest Iran. This prisoner, referred to by the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Maragheh as 'Amir Mahdi,' was executed on charges of 'corruption on earth' through 'widespread dissemination of corruption and prostitution' in 'Maragheh and surrounding cities.' The Iran Human Rights Organization described the execution as indicative of the 'true face of the Islamic Republic,' which 'tries to prolong its life through cruelty, humiliation, and intimidation of society.' According to the Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mahmoud Nematian, the prosecutor of Maragheh, told reporters that this defendant 'deceived women and girls' by 'forging job titles and unknown pay slips and business cards' and 'filmed them under the pretext of marriage' from 'illicit relationships.' This judicial official stated that the individual executed in public had been arrested in 2016 and that 'after several appeals,' the death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic. Nematian claimed that 'citizens' appreciated the execution of this prisoner, while widespread protests against executions have occurred in recent days among Iranians. Despite widespread domestic and international opposition to the increasing number of executions in Iran, including the execution of political prisoners and protesters, this wave continues. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department previously condemned the execution of three defendants in the 'Isfahan House' case, stating, 'We condemn the execution of Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashimi, and Saeed Yaghoubi by the Iranian regime in the strongest possible terms and stand with the people of Iran, sharing in the grief of the families of these three.' Some experts and analysts view the intensification of executions in Iran as a means to intimidate society. Mohammad Oliaei-Fard, a lawyer, stated that the Islamic Republic uses executions as a 'political tool.'