Press release January 7th, 2023
The International Committee ‘In Search of Justice’ (ISJ) has condemned the Iranian regime for the brutal execution of another two young men who took part in the ongoing nationwide demonstrations against the theocratic regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a horrible act of wanton cruelty, this morning, 7th January 2023, the mullahs’ regime executed Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini. The two men had been falsely convicted of killing a member of the Basij paramilitary force militia. Three other protesters have been sentenced to death in the same case, while a further eleven received long prison sentences. The Iranian regime has now executed four people arrested during the current uprising, while many more have been sentenced to death, after confessions made under torture and sham trials, where the defendants are denied legal representation.
The nationwide insurrection has continued for almost four months and shows no sign of subsiding, despite a ruthless crackdown by the theocratic regime’s security forces, which has seen more than 750 protesters killed and over 30,000 arrested. The regime is now deeply afraid, having realized that every death, every arrest, every execution, simply inflames the rage of the population who now demand the total overthrow of Khamenei’s theocratic dictatorship.
In the past year, the mullahs’ regime has executed over 500 people, in a wave of killings designed to crush opposition. Many of those sentenced have been accused of “moharebeh” or “waging war against God,” a charge which carries the mandatory death penalty in Iran. The United Nations Human Rights Council has agreed to establish an investigative mission to probe Iran’s suppression of the nationwide insurrection. There must be no impunity for the perpetrators of these atrocities. Those responsible for the brutal crackdown on the protests leading to the injury and death of thousands of men, women and children and for the arrest, torture and execution of innocent protesters, must be held accountable for their crimes.
The ISJ calls on the UN, the US, the EU and all democratic countries to take practical steps to stop the executions and killings in Iran. Silence is unacceptable and will certainly lead to further illegal executions. The time for tough action is now.
