Recent Death Sentences for Those Involved in Armed Clashes; Punishment or Creation of Fear?

The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Court has stated that the death sentences for eight individuals accused of last year's attack on the Parliament building and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini have been confirmed. At the same time, Iran's Ministry of Intelligence announced the arrest of 27 members of a group that reportedly intended to carry out terrorist activities in Iran during Ramadan. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also reported a bloody clash on the western border of Iran on Sunday. Radio Farda's report discusses the trial, sentencing, punishment, and options for controlling violence. Abdolkarim Lahiji, a lawyer and honorary president of the International Federation for Human Rights, expresses serious doubts about the fairness of the death sentences due to the potential absence of legal representation during the trial of the eight accused in the armed attack on the Parliament building and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini, stating: 'The main goal and practice of the Revolutionary Court in issuing death sentences has usually been to create fear and terror.' Taghi Rahmani, a political activist from the national-religious spectrum residing in Paris, argues that part of the reasons for the emergence of sectarian and political violence is that the government, instead of appreciating the efforts of trusted figures in the border areas of Iran to control violence, is largely indifferent to the efforts of these civil activists.