Nearly Forty Protesters At Risk of Execution: Rights Group
A human rights network has warned that at least 39 protesters are currently at risk of execution or death penalty sentences in Iran.
A human rights network has warned that at least 39 protesters are currently at risk of execution or death penalty sentences in Iran.
The Oslo-based group also added that at least 469 people including 63 children and 32 women, have been killed by security forces in the current nationwide protests in Iran.
Iran Human Rights Organization in its latest report said the higher death toll relates to recently verified cases from the first two months of the protests.
Protesters have been killed in 25 provinces, with the most reported in Sistan-Baluchistan, Western Azerbaijan, Kordestan, Tehran and Mazandaran respectively, noted the organization.
It also noted that there is serious concern about the imminent execution of six protesters after one detainee with a confirmed death sentence was transferred from the general ward of Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, to solitary confinement and at least five protesters detained in the western city of Oshnavieh charged with ‘moharebeh’ were transferred from Urmia Central Prison to an unknown location.
Moharebeh is an Islamic-Arabic term that in the lexicon of the Iranian regime means “fighting God” and its punishment is death.
Iran has been the scene of nationwide anti-regime protests after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in mid-September.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement Friday “The hypocritical approach of sponsors of this resolution in exploiting international institutes to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran is a clear example of abusing sublime human rights concepts and values to pursue short-sighted political objectives.”
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a series of resolutions on December 15, with one condemning serious rights violations by Iran.
The resolution titled, “Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran” passed by a recorded vote of 80 in favor and 29 against, with 65 abstentions.
Iran’s spokesman reiterated claims that this is part of the efforts of Western countries to maintain the “Iranophobia project” and “psychological war” against the Islamic Republic.
Meanwhile, several Iranian Friday Imams called the United Nations a “victim” of goals pursued by the United Sates in their sermons on Friday.
The resolution expressed serious concern at the significant increase in use of the death penalty in Iran; disproportionate application of the death penalty to persons belonging to minorities; and continuing disregard for protections under Iranian law or internationally recognized safeguards relating to the death penalty.
It strongly urged Iran to eliminate all forms of systemic discrimination and other human rights violations against women and girls; ensure women’s and girls’ equal protection and access to justice, including by prohibiting so-called honor killings and child, early and forced marriage.
The resolution further called on the regime to lift restrictions on women’s and girls’ equal access to primary and secondary education; and remove legal and cultural barriers to women’s equal participation in the labor market and all aspects of economic, cultural, and political life.
The Assembly also expressed serious concern that the enforcement of the hijab and chastity law and its violent implementation by the Iranian morality police fundamentally undermines the human rights of women and girls.
It strongly urged Iran to cease the use of excessive force against peaceful protestors, such as in the aftermath of Mahsa Amini’s arbitrary arrest and subsequent death while in custody.
Further, it called on Iran to eliminate all forms of discrimination based on thought, religion, or belief, reiterating the importance of independent investigations for all allegations of human rights violations, including excessive use of force, arbitrary arrest, detention and torture.
The Assembly also called on Iran to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, including by accepting repeated requests to visit the country.
The new draft resolution comes just days after the Islamic Republic was voted out from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for policies contrary to the rights of women and girls.
On Wednesday, members of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted a US-drafted resolution to "remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term" over the regime’s bloody crackdown on protests ignited by the death of a young woman in custody of hijab – or the so-called “morality” -- police.
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Out of the 54-member body, 29 members voted in favor of the resolution while eight voted against and 16 countries abstained. The Islamic Republic itself, Palestine, Syria, Cuba, China, Russia, Eritrea, Belarus, Zimbabwe, and North Korea voted to keep Iran in the body.
The vote was the first time in United Nations history that a country was expelled from the commission.
