Social media reactions to confirmation of death sentence for three November protesters: “They don’t consider us human, they count us as numbers”
Some social media users reacted to the confirmation of the death sentence for three protesters from last November’s protests, viewing it as another sign of the absence of freedom of expression in Iran.
Previously, Morgan Ortagus, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, announced that the United States condemns the confirmation of the death sentence for three detainees from the November 2019 public protests in Iran by the Supreme Court.
On Thursday, June 25, it was announced that the death sentence for Amirhossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, and Mohammad Rajabi has been confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic.
Social media reactions
The sentence for these three young protesters was initially issued in the lower court and confirmed in the Supreme Court, while Mostafa Nili, the lawyer for these defendants, has not yet been given the opportunity to “enter the case” and register his representation by judicial authorities. He expressed astonishment on Twitter regarding the issuance of this sentence.
Hosein Taj, another lawyer engaged in defending political defendants, described the situation similar to what Mostafa Nili explained.
In the meantime, the publication of news about the confirmation of the death sentence in the Supreme Court and its subsequent denial by some state news agencies raised concerns among human rights activists. A user named Seyyed Ahmad Haghnegar says this is the procedure of the Islamic Republic: it first announces a piece of news, then confuses everyone with the “usual game” of confirmation and denial, and afterwards the “executioner” carries out the execution with a “clear conscience.”
Public protests began on Friday, November 15, following the sudden announcement of a gasoline price hike in various Iranian cities including Mashhad, Khuzestan, Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, and Behbahan, and then spread to all parts of the country, with the scope of protests extending beyond the gasoline price issue.
Following these protests, Reuters reported the death toll in Iran’s protests as 1,500 people and, citing three sources close to the Islamic Republic’s leader, wrote that Khamenei had ordered government and security officials to do “whatever necessary” to stop the protests.
During Iran’s public protests, U.S. government officials, including U.S. President Donald Trump, several times referred to the issue of Iranian protesters and America’s support for them, saying that “protesters in Iran are seeking freedom and we fully support them.”
Source: Voice of America
