Reactions Continue to the Execution of 4 Political Prisoners; It Lacks Legal Validity and Is a Declaration of War Against the People of Iran

Reactions to the execution of four Kurdish political prisoners by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic in Qazalhesar prison, which took place in the early hours of Monday, February 9, continue among Iranian social media users. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department condemned the execution of the four political prisoners in a written response to Voice of America, stating: "We condemn all such executions as well as any torture and forced confessions that these individuals have been subjected to, as has been widely reported." Joanna Timsi, the wife of Mohsen Mazloom, shared an image of the mourning announcement for the executed political prisoner on social media platform X, reposting a couplet in his memory and writing: "How can I express your sorrow, which bent behind the words from your grief, so deeply did you drive sorrow in love and kindness, that sorrow became your ancient tale." Maria Mahmoudi, the wife of Mohammad Farahmrazi, published an image of the last letter from this recently executed political prisoner, writing: "Never to return, which symbolized dignity and power for yourself and all of us." Bayan Azimi, the wife of Pejman Fatahi, another of the executed Kurdish prisoners, shared an image of her young son's cut hair, writing: "I too offer the hair of my son, Sabah, woven as a symbol of this strength to Kurdistan." Prince Reza Pahlavi reacted to the execution of these political prisoners in Iran and the killing of three American soldiers following an attack by militia forces backed by the Islamic Republic at the Jordan-Syria border, describing these actions as a "simultaneous declaration of war by the Islamic Republic against the people of Iran and the world," stating: "There is only one solution to this problem: to help the people of Iran in their struggle to free themselves from the Islamic regime and to end the war and conflict." Nazanin Boniadi, a human rights activist and actress, emphasized: "Curse the Islamic Republic and the divisive ones." On the other hand, Abdullah Mohtadi, the Secretary-General of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, stated: "I assure you that Kurdistan will not remain silent in the face of the slaughter of its children and will not sit idly by." He also announced that the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan and "many political parties and civil and human rights organizations in Kurdistan" would declare tomorrow, Tuesday, a "general strike across Kurdistan." Hamed Esmaeilioun, a member of the Association of Families of Flight PS752, shared an image of the four executed young men alongside their wives, writing: "We will neither forget nor forgive anyone who took forced confessions, sentenced them, brought them to slaughter, hanged them, and that great murderer, Ali Khamenei. All of you who are instruments of oppression will be held accountable." Masih Alinejad, a journalist and human rights activist, stated: "Executions will continue as long as the Iranian opposition seeks condolences and issues statements instead of solidarity and organizing to overthrow the Islamic Republic." Hediyeh Kimiai, a journalist, noted: "The Islamic Republic executed four young men who had been tortured and kept in media silence for a year and a half, without a lawyer, accusing them of having links with Israel at dawn. Mothers who saw their children after a year and a half yesterday, and now the government has killed them." Ebrahim Allahbakhshi, a human rights activist, emphasized that the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic "killed four lives." Khalilollah Baluchi, a civil activist in Iran, reposted a poem by Ahmad Shamlou, writing: "Stay until the curse of hell takes its toll on you, for the mourning mothers, grieving the most beautiful children of the sun and wind, have yet to lift their heads from their prayer mats." Meanwhile, the legal advisory account of Dadban examined the legal accusations against these four executed citizens and their case process, emphasizing that "collaboration with Mossad" is an "unclear accusation for carrying out the death penalty in Iran." According to this legal analysis, "the death sentences for the four Kurdish political prisoners named Pejman Fatahi, Mohsen Mazloom, Mohammad Farahmrazi, and Vafa Azarbar were carried out after 19 months of being uninformed and without access to a lawyer," and this case had "numerous substantive flaws" such as "lack of access to the right to defense and a defense attorney and also the court's reliance on forced confessions obtained through torture," and in addition, "the attributed accusation against them and the death penalty issued based on it was also lacking in legal validity and far from the fundamental principles of criminal law." Simultaneously with the execution of the four Kurdish political prisoners, another prisoner named Ali Rajabiyan was also executed in Qazalhesar prison this morning, February 9. The accusation against this prisoner was related to drugs. Thus, the number of executions on Monday in Qazalhesar prison in Alborz province is at least five. Saeed Ghasemi Nejad, a senior researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated in a report: "Data shows that the reduction of U.S. pressure on Tehran during the Biden administration has coincided with an increase in the number of executions and other human rights violations by the Islamic regime in Iran. The United States must restore maximum pressure on the regime and initiate a campaign for maximum support for the people of Iran. Such a policy serves vital U.S. national interests and more effectively empowers the people of Iran to confront their oppressors." Following the "execution of the sentences" of Pejman Fatahi, Mohammad Farahmrazi, Vafa Azarbar, and Mohsen Mazloom, four Kurdish Iranian political prisoners in Qazalhesar prison in Karaj, despite widespread international protests regarding their situation, human rights organizations and figures condemned this action of the Islamic Republic strongly. Gohar Eshghi, the mother of Sattar Beheshti, a blogger critical of the Islamic Republic who died in the Islamic Republic's prison due to torture, reacted to the execution of the four Kurdish political prisoners on social media X, addressing the leader of the Islamic Republic: "Curse you, Khamenei! I used to pray for your death; now I say you won't die until you see your fat-necked sons go to the gallows!"