Urgent Action: Iran - grave risk of more executions for protestors

Risk of protest-related executions amid killing spree by Iranian government

At least five individuals in Iran are under sentence of death in connection with the “Woman Life Freedom” uprising of 2022, while at least 15 others are at risk of the death penalty and eight have been arbitrarily executed following grossly unfair sham trials. The authorities have severely violated their fair trial rights and subjected many to torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings, electric shocks and sexual violence.

Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkouri is at imminent risk of execution. He is being held in solitary confinement and has been repeatedly subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including severe beatings.

Kurdish man Reza (Gholamreza) Rasaei is also at imminent risk of execution. On 31 December, his death sentence, which was issued following a grossly unfair trial that included torture- tainted evidence, was sent for implementation.

To date, the authorities have arbitrarily executed eight people in connection with the protests after grossly unfair trials marred by torture allegations.

Concerns of further protest-related executions are mounting amid a sharp spike in the use of the death penalty with the authorities having executed at least 115 people in November alone.

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Head of judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei C/O Embassy of Iran to Ireland Dear Mr Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, I am gravely concerned that at least 20 people are at risk of the death penalty in connection with the “Woman Life Freedom” nationwide protests of September-December 2022. Among them are at least five individuals – Manouchehr Mehman Navaz, Mansour Dahmardeh, Mohammad Ghobadlou, Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkouri and Reza (Gholamreza) Rasaei - currently under the sentence of death and at grave risk of execution following grossly unfair trials involving charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh), “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz) and “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi). At least one other – Mahan Sadrat (Sedarat) Madani – is facing a retrial on capital charges after his conviction and death sentence were quashed by the Supreme Court in December 2022 and his case returned to lower courts. Amnesty International is aware of at least two others – Saeed Shirazi and Abolfazl Mehri Hossein Hajilou who have undergone trial on charges that carry the death penalty. At least a dozen others are being investigated for capital crimes brought in relation to the protests, amid concerns about the imposition of the death penalty on more individuals as authorities arrested and indicted thousands in connection to the uprising. The aforementioned individuals have faced grossly unfair trials before Revolutionary Courts and/or Criminal Courts across the country including in the provinces of Alborz, Tehran, Kermanshah, Khuzestan, and Sistan and Baluchistan. The rights violated include the right to: adequate defence and access to lawyers of their choosing; the presumption of innocence; remain silent; meaningfully challenge the legality of their detentions and receive a fair, public hearing. The authorities have used torture-tainted “confessions”, some of which were broadcast on state media prior to trials, as evidence to issue convictions. Amnesty International has documented the torture and other ill-treatment of four out of the five people under sentence of death, through beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, sexual violence and deliberate denial of healthcare. I urge you to immediately quash all convictions and death sentences stemming from the protests, refrain from seeking further death sentences, and ensure that anyone charged with a recognizable criminal offence is tried in proceedings meeting international fair trial standards without recourse to the death penalty. I call for the release of all those detained for peacefully exercising their human rights. I urge you to provide those detained access to their families and lawyers of their own choosing, protect them from further torture and other ill-treatment and investigate torture allegations, bringing anyone found responsible to justice in fair trials. Finally, grant independent observers access to capital trials and those on death row connected to protests and, more broadly, immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view of abolishing the death penalty. Yours sincerely,
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Urgent Action: Iran – grave risk of more executions for protestors

Risk of protest-related executions amid killing spree by Iranian government

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