Iran: execution of tortured protesters is 'horrifying'

Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi executed this morning after grossly unfair trial

Bodies of the three men buried in separate locations amid heavy security presence

‘Governments must urgently denounce these executions’ - Diana Eltahawy

Responding to the Iranian authorities’ execution of three tortured protesters - Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi - following a grossly unfair trial, Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Middle East Deputy Director, said:    

“We are horrified by the chilling execution of these protesters this morning. 

 

“These executions are designed by the Iranian authorities to send a strong message to the world and the people of Iran that they will stop at nothing to crush and punish dissent. 

 

“Governments must urgently denounce these executions, in the strongest possible terms.

 

“We urge all states to exercise universal jurisdiction over all Iranian officials against whom there is sufficient admissible evidence of criminal responsibility for torture and other crimes under international law.

“The Iranian authorities must understand, in no uncertain terms, that the world will not simply stand by as they intensify their use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression.”

Buried amid heavy security presence

After the executions were carried out, the authorities buried the three men in separate locations amid a heavy security presence. Since executing Majid Kazemi this morning, the authorities have also arrested one of his brothers. Amnesty had earlier denounced the imposition of death sentences against Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghoubi as “a blatant act of vengeance” against them as protesters. Last year, Iran carried out at least 576 executions, dramatically up from the number (314) it conducted during 2021, making the country the world’s second-largest user of capital punishment behind only China. Some of these executions were of protesters who had taken to the streets in response to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September.