En Haberler – Two people who killed police officers in Iran were executed in front of thousands of people
Two people found guilty of killing four police officers during anti-government protests in Iran were executed by hanging in public. Human rights organizations strongly criticized the executions. Amnesty International stated that authorities are using the death penalty to suppress opposition.
Iran publicly executed two people on Tuesday who were convicted of killing four police officers during anti-government protests held across the country in January. According to state media, the prisoners, Abdolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amir Hossein Safari Hosseinabadi, were hanged in public at Alikhani Square in the city of Isfahan.
The protests in question were recorded as one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. While authorities responded harshly to the protests, it was reported that thousands of people lost their lives and tens of thousands were detained. Although the protests were largely suppressed, the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran on February 28 changed the agenda.
Human rights organizations stated that the two executed individuals were found guilty in connection with the incident in which four police officers were killed. A total of 14 people were sentenced to death in the same case, two of whom had already been executed earlier in the month.
Public executions are not an uncommon practice in Iran. These executions, especially applied to political prisoners, are often carried out in city squares using cranes as gallows.
Wave of executions since January
According to data from Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a US-based organization that monitors human rights violations in Iran, with the two individuals executed on Tuesday, at least five protesters have been publicly executed since March. The organization announced that it has documented 29 public execution cases in Iran over the past five years.
Amnesty International, on the other hand, described Tuesday’s executions as “a step that further escalates the authorities’ use of the death penalty to suppress dissent.” According to the organization, at least 60 people, including three who were detained as minors, still face the risk of execution.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement, “Iranian authorities have launched a horrific wave of executions and death sentences aimed at punishing and suppressing dissent. The international community’s weak response is encouraging the authorities to continue these deadly policies.”
The organization also alleged that at least 26 people have been executed due to charges linked to the January protests, following confessions obtained under torture and unfair trials. Additionally, it was reported that 26 more people have been executed this year on political grounds such as espionage and membership in opposition groups.
Bloodiest crackdown since 1979
The protests began due to the deepening economic crisis in Iran and quickly turned into calls for the then Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to step down. The report also noted that Khamenei later died in the initial attacks by the US and Israel.
According to human rights organizations, the security operation against the protests became the deadliest repression process in the 47-year history of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In a report based on its extensive communication network inside Iran, HRANA announced that more than 7,000 people lost their lives during the protests and that it is investigating thousands more deaths. According to the organization, more than 50,000 people were detained in just over six weeks. The Iranian government, on the other hand, acknowledged that more than 3,000 people died in the protests.
During the peak of the protests, Iranian authorities signaled that swift trials and death sentences would be implemented.
Families of prisoners concerned
According to HRANA, the bodies of the two individuals executed on Tuesday have not yet been handed over to their families. Relatives of other defendants tried in the same case gathered in front of the prison in Isfahan, expressing concern over the fate of their loved ones.
A website affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, however, claimed that the two executed individuals not only killed the police officers but also set fire to a police station and damaged public buildings.
Human rights organizations, on the other hand, argue that political prisoners in Iran are convicted in closed-door trials lacking procedural safeguards, and that decisions are often based on forced confessions obtained under torture.