Iranian Christians Gather in Stockholm on International Day Against the Death Penalty
Iranian Christians residing in Stockholm held a gathering in front of the Swedish Parliament on the occasion of the International Day Against the Death Penalty.
According to videos published on social media, on Tuesday, October 8, corresponding to October 29 in the Persian calendar, Iranian Christians living in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, gathered in front of the Swedish Parliament to commemorate the International Day Against the Death Penalty. Participants in this gathering, while referring to the executions that took place during the nationwide uprising of 1401 and honoring the victims, called for the abolition of capital punishment from Iran’s judicial system with the slogan “We do not want the death penalty government, we do not want it.”
According to globally recorded execution statistics last year, more than 75 percent of these executions belonged to Iran. “Cambiz Ghafouri,” a journalist and member of the Iran Human Rights Organization in Finland, speaking about the recorded statistics on global executions, of which more than 75 percent occurred in Iran, said: “When the Islamic Republic feels the need to instill fear and intimidate people and carry out repression within the country, the execution rate increases.
During the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, execution statistics also suddenly increased. Now too, as we are in the shadow of the conflict between the Islamic Republic and Israel, it is trying to demonstrate an atmosphere of terror and an iron fist. According to statistics recorded on the Iran Human Rights Organization website, 513 people were executed from the beginning of 2024 to October 9, 2024 in Iran, and this figure rose from 513 to 516 in the past few hours, from October 9 to October 10 (today).
This statistic is not just a number; each one of them is a human being. 516 people, and only in 9 months and a few days, is a tragedy where the Islamic Republic takes the lives of these people who all have families, and usually targets defenseless victims. Groups whose voices do not reach anywhere, and the Islamic Republic seeks to instill fear through the execution of these individuals.”
According to Cambiz Ghafouri’s remarks, for approximately 37 weeks, political prisoners have been going on hunger strikes every Tuesday in protest against executions by the Islamic Republic, with approximately 150 prominent Iranian and international figures joining the prisoners in this protest.
It is worth noting that these prisoners are paying a price for their protest and participation in the “No to Execution” campaign, as 37 weeks have passed since the start of this campaign, and prisoners continue to participate in this campaign every Tuesday to bring the voice of the “No to Execution” protest to the entire world.
