Amnesty International: The cycle of bloodshed by Iranian authorities must not continue
On the third anniversary of the January 2017 protests, Amnesty International called on the international community to establish an independent investigative body to prevent the Islamic Republic from continuing its "cycle of bloodshed."
On the third anniversary of the nationwide protests in January 2017, Amnesty International issued a statement calling on the international community to pressure the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop the practice of "illegal use of deadly force to suppress protests."
This human rights organization also called for the establishment of an international and independent investigative body by the UN Human Rights Council to impartially investigate the events of January 2017 and November 2019 in Iran.
The popular protests in January 2017 first began in Mashhad, protesting against high prices, but soon spread throughout Iran, with people taking to the streets in more than a hundred cities. On January 14 of that year, a spokesman for the judiciary announced that 25 people had been killed during the protests, but Amnesty International believes the actual number of deaths is likely higher.
In its statement, this independent, non-governmental organization emphasizes "the need for justice for the dozens of protesters, including children, who were killed by Iranian security forces across the country."
During the protests of January 2017 and November 2019, many people under the age of 18 were killed, including Ahmad Heydari, a 13-year-old student whose family called him Sohrab. He was the only child in his family and lived alone with his mother.
On January 4, 2017, the Iranian state-run newspaper quoted the Minister of Education as saying that two of the people killed in the protests were students: Shayan and Armin, who were residents of Khomeini Shahr, were shot dead.
Mass arrests and at least one execution
In its statement, Amnesty International condemned the "arbitrary detention of thousands of protesters during the protests, torture and other inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment of detainees," and the issuance of death sentences to some of those detained during these protests, calling for "truth-finding and justice."
According to the organization, at least one protester, Mostafa Salehi, was executed in August 2017 in connection with the January 2017 protests, and five other protesters, including Mohammad Bastami, Mehdi Salehi, Hadi Kiani, Abbas Mohammadi, and Majid Nazari, remain at risk of execution.
Amnesty International wrote that instead of following up on the status of those detained and investigating those killed, the Islamic Republic's judicial and security officials have, over the past three years, "threatened, harassed, and intimidated the families of the victims to prevent them from publicly protesting."
The statement continued: "The security forces' immunity from prosecution and punishment and the silent response of the international community emboldened Iranian authorities to escalate the illegal use of deadly force during the subsequent nationwide protests in November 2019, leaving hundreds dead."
Increasing executions for intimidation
Amnesty International has also pointed to the increase in the issuance and execution of political death sentences after January 2017, calling it a tactic to intimidate the people and carry out political repression.
In this regard, the organization referred to the execution of Ruhollah Zam, the director of the Telegram channel Amad News, and wrote: "In an unprecedented move in recent decades, authorities also executed opposition journalist Ruhollah Zam in December 2017 in connection with his popular Telegram channel, "Amad News," which authorities believed had incited the January 2017 protests."
Amnesty International finally called on the international community to form an independent fact-finding group to prevent the "cycle of bloodshed by Iranian authorities" from continuing.
Source: DW
