Iran Human Rights Organization Warns: Danger of Executions and Extrajudicial Killings of Detained Protesters is Serious

The Iran Human Rights Organization, given the long history of issuing death sentences based on forced confessions in the Islamic Republic, has warned of the danger of executions and “extrajudicial” killings of protesters.

In a report released Wednesday, Bahman 15, the organization wrote that in addition to the Islamic Republic’s history of executions, given the widespread and systematic use of lethal force by the Iranian government with the explicit intent to kill during this round of protests, particularly after the nationwide internet shutdown, this danger is serious.

The Iran Human Rights Organization estimates that following the bloody crackdown on December protests, “more than 40,000 people” are currently being held in detention centers, prisons, and unofficial or secret facilities under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence.

The organization has stated that the situation of detainees related to the protests is “emergency and requires the attention and immediate action of the international community.”

Complete disregard for the principles of fair trial and the history of hasty and secret executions during the Islamic Republic’s rule have been cited as other reasons for the Iran Human Rights Organization’s warning in this regard.

The report emphasizes that many detainees are in a state of “complete severing of all contact with the outside world and absolute isolation,” “without access to family or lawyers, and completely outside any effective judicial oversight.”

Currently, with explicit orders from senior officials of the Islamic Republic, including the head of the judiciary to conduct “expedited trials” and impose “severe punishments,” and systematically labeling protesters with labels such as “terrorist,” “foreign agent,” and “mohareb” (one who wages war against God), many of the accused have been convicted of charges that, under Islamic Republic laws, can result in death sentences.

From the first week of the protests, state media have broadcast hundreds of forced confessions obtained under pressure, torture, and threats against detainees and their families.

The Iran Human Rights Organization says it has received credible but unconfirmed reports that a number of detainees have been “secretly” executed in several prisons.

Radio Farda is independently unable to confirm or deny these reports, and the Iran Human Rights Organization has stated that “these reports are currently under investigation.”

Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam, director of the Iran Human Rights Organization, said in this regard: “The Islamic Republic is trying to establish a reign of terror to prevent the formation of new waves of protest and to continue the survival of an unstable and shaky system. Execution is the most effective tool of this government to create fear and terror in society.”

He added that “we are deeply concerned that the widespread massacre of protesters on the streets will now continue inside prisons and detention centers.”

The director of the Iran Human Rights Organization further stated that “thousands of detained protesters, defenseless and in inhumane conditions, are at risk of torture, enforced disappearance, and immediate danger of execution or killing after show trials.”

Identifying Three Threats and Pointing to Examples

According to information gathered by the Iran Human Rights Organization, “hundreds of people” in connection with nationwide protests face death sentences and charges that carry capital punishment.

The Islamic Republic announced on Bahman 7, 1404 the holding of the first public trial of protesters. This comes as families and relatives of protesters have reported undisclosed cases of individuals facing death sentences.

Based on this report, due to lack of transparency in the judiciary, the number of protesters who have so far been charged or convicted is likely “far greater” than the reported cases.

The Iran Human Rights Organization has currently identified three main and related threats that detainees in the protests have faced. These threats are:

• Injured protesters who are at risk of death due to deliberate denial of medical treatment or as a result of torture while in detention;
• The organization has received multiple reports of secret executions without any judicial process, which are still under investigation;
• And third, a growing number of protesters will be sentenced to death after highly unjust judicial proceedings and will likely be executed publicly by authorities to intimidate society.

In its warning about secret extrajudicial executions, the organization has also pointed to examples of this danger for some of the protesters in the recent round of nationwide protests in Iran.

The Iran Human Rights Organization has stated that relatives of Ali Rahi, a 33-year-old bodybuilding trainer, announced on Bahman 3, 1404 that he had been secretly executed at Mashhad Central Prison (Vakil-Abad).

One day later, Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the judiciary, claimed: “No such person was in detention in prisons in Razavi Khorasan Province, and therefore no death sentence was issued or carried out for him.”

However, according to the Iran Human Rights Organization’s report, Ali Rahi’s name appears in row 1285 of the official list of those killed by the Presidential Office released on Bahman 13, 1404.

Based on the explanation provided, this list was prepared by the Legal Medicine Organization of the country and then matched with information from the Registration Organization of Deeds and Properties.

The Iran Human Rights Organization has repeatedly emphasized in its report that it has received credible but “credible” unconfirmed reports of secret executions of a number of protesters in three prisons; these reports are currently under further investigation.

Danger of Execution and Charges Carrying Death Penalty

The Iran Human Rights Organization, in addition to pointing to examples, has written that dozens of protesters have also faced charges that could result in death sentences. However, the organization has emphasized that it has not yet been able to independently verify these reports.

Nevertheless, the report states that based on a statement released by Mizan News Agency affiliated with the judiciary on Bahman 14, cases related to protests and what has been called “recent terrorist incidents” are “still under investigation in judicial authorities and the verdicts in these cases have not yet reached final stages.”

This comes as the organization states that in numerous cases, families or detainees have been verbally informed of death sentences without any written or judicial documents being provided in this regard.

Furthermore, many families have been threatened into silence to prevent drawing public attention to the cases of their loved ones.

The Iran Human Rights Organization has referred to 38 protesters who are at risk of charges carrying capital punishment, among whom the name of one woman is mentioned.

The organization has also presented several cases of detainees at immediate risk of expedited trials and execution; individuals whose forced confessions to “killing security forces” have already been broadcast by government media. This pattern has repeatedly preceded the execution of death sentences in Iran in the past.

The organization has recalled that under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, murder cases are normally under the jurisdiction of criminal courts. However, in cases related to protests, authorities have increasingly transferred cases to revolutionary courts by changing the charge descriptions and presenting alleged murders as crimes against national security, including moharebeh and spreading corruption on earth.

The Iran Human Rights Organization had previously documented such procedures during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” nationwide protests.

The organization has also emphasized that when a case is securitized, the accused lose the right to choose their own lawyer.

Article 48 of Iran’s Criminal Procedure Code allows the accused to request their preferred lawyer during the preliminary investigation phase. However, a provision added to this article in 1394, restricts this right for those accused of “crimes against internal or external security” during the preliminary phase to a list of government-approved lawyers.

Previously, Hadi Sharifzadeh, a lawyer in Fars Province, also reported the “very heavy atmosphere” surrounding families of detainees and said that in-person visits and multiple messages to lawyers have increased, but independent lawyers do not have the ability to enter these cases, and this has added to family anxiety.

The Iran Human Rights Organization’s report also refers to increased suppression of defense lawyers and states that according to Shargh newspaper, since the beginning of nationwide protests, at least 9 lawyers have been arrested in various Iranian cities.

Source: Radio Farda