EU ‘appalled’, calls on Tehran to end executions
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The European Union is “appalled” by the latest Iranian executions in connection with protests in the country, read a statement from the EU on Saturday, calling on Tehran to immediately put an end to “the strongly condemnable practice”.
“The EU is appalled by the execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini arrested and sentenced to death in connection with the ongoing protests in Iran,” read the EU statement.
Iran on Saturday executed Karami and Hosseini, claiming that they were guilty of killing a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The executions follow that of Majidreza Rahnavard, who was publicly hanged on December 12, also for allegedly killing two members of the IRGC’s paramilitary Basij.
“The European Union calls once again on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the strongly condemnable practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters. The EU also calls on the authorities to annul without delay the recent death penalty sentences that were already pronounced in the context of the ongoing protests,” the EU statement added.
Iran on December 8 carried out the first official protest-linked execution. Mohsen Shekari, 23, was hanged after being similarly accused of wounding a member of the Basij.
Protests spread across the Islamic republic in the aftermath of the death of young Kurdish woman Zhina (Mahsa) Amini at the hands of the morality police on September 16, sparking a violent crackdown by Iranian security forces, particularly the IRGC and its paramilitary Basij.
At least 517 protesters, including 70 children, have been killed and over 19,000 have been arrested since the protests began almost four months ago, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) on Friday.
The protests, which authorities describe as “riots,” are perhaps the biggest challenge the regime in Iran is facing since its establishment in 1979. Iran is one of the world’s top executioners and is using this method as an attempt to quell the protests.
“The EU is appalled by the execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini arrested and sentenced to death in connection with the ongoing protests in Iran,” read the EU statement.
Iran on Saturday executed Karami and Hosseini, claiming that they were guilty of killing a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The executions follow that of Majidreza Rahnavard, who was publicly hanged on December 12, also for allegedly killing two members of the IRGC’s paramilitary Basij.
“The European Union calls once again on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the strongly condemnable practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters. The EU also calls on the authorities to annul without delay the recent death penalty sentences that were already pronounced in the context of the ongoing protests,” the EU statement added.
Iran on December 8 carried out the first official protest-linked execution. Mohsen Shekari, 23, was hanged after being similarly accused of wounding a member of the Basij.
Protests spread across the Islamic republic in the aftermath of the death of young Kurdish woman Zhina (Mahsa) Amini at the hands of the morality police on September 16, sparking a violent crackdown by Iranian security forces, particularly the IRGC and its paramilitary Basij.
At least 517 protesters, including 70 children, have been killed and over 19,000 have been arrested since the protests began almost four months ago, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) on Friday.
The protests, which authorities describe as “riots,” are perhaps the biggest challenge the regime in Iran is facing since its establishment in 1979. Iran is one of the world’s top executioners and is using this method as an attempt to quell the protests.