Death sentences for November protesters; Internet disruption coincides with Twitter storm
A Twitter storm erupted in protest against the death sentences of three protesters in the November unrest. This was followed by news of internet disruptions in Iran. Before users, several human rights organizations had called for the death sentences to be overturned.
On Tuesday, July 24, the hashtag #Don't_Execute began circulating rapidly on the Persian-language internet. On the same day, news was also published about problems accessing some internet services in Iran.
The NetBlocks organization, which monitors internet restrictions around the world, reported disruptions in internet connectivity in Iran starting around 9 p.m. Tuesday. The IT Iran Center also reported on its Twitter account a chart showing internet disruptions in some Iranian cities and operators.
On Tuesday, Gholamhossein Esmaeili, spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, announced the confirmation of the death sentences of three protesters of the nationwide demonstrations of November 2019 in the Supreme Court, saying that the sentence has been sent to the prosecution for execution.
Following the announcement, internet users launched a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #Don'tExecute, which became a global Twitter trend within hours. The hashtag had been used more than three million times by Wednesday morning.
The US State Department's Persian Twitter account also supported the campaign by posting a picture of the desert executions and writing: "Forty-one years of executions are enough! Don't execute."
Execution based on “unfair trial”
Internet users are calling for the death sentences of Amir Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, and Mohammad Rajabi to be overturned. These three were among those arrested during the November 2019 protests.
Two of the defendants had fled to Türkiye, but police officers in Türkiye handed them over to Iran.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, two reputable human rights organizations, had previously criticized the death sentences handed down to three Iranian protesters. The two international organizations considered the trial of the three men to be “unfair” and that their “confessions” were extracted through severe torture.
The news of the confirmation of the death sentences of Amir Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, and Mohammad Rajabi was announced a few days ago by one of their lawyers, and the Judiciary Spokesperson officially confirmed the news on Tuesday, July 14.
The goal of Tuesday's online campaign is not only to protest the latest death sentences for three young protesters, but also the Islamic Republic's judicial practice, which has a liberal hand in issuing death sentences.
In recent days, another news of executions was released: Diako Rasoulzadeh and Saber Sheikh Abdullah were executed in Urmia Central Prison on Tuesday morning; according to the spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, a retired member of the Ministry of Defense of the Islamic Republic was also executed last week "for the crime of espionage," and at the same time, the death sentence of Mahmoud Mousavi Majd has also been declared "final and binding."
Source: DW
