Iran has recently executed four young men who were sentenced to death in connection with the protests in the country. Two more young men are reportedly on the run. This is reported by the AFP news agency. news points out that there are strong images from Iran in this matter. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is strongly critical of what is happening in the country. – The Iranian government uses prosecution and the death penalty as weapons to punish those who participate in protests and to create fear in the population in order to remove all dissent. It is in direct violation of international human rights law, says a statement from Türk. HARSH CRITICISM: Two men were sentenced to death in December in this trial in Iran. Photo: WANA NEWS AGENCY / Reuters Murder approved by the state The wave of protests in Iran started in September after the young woman Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the so-called morality police. Two men were executed by hanging on 7 January this year. They had been convicted of killing a soldier from the country’s paramilitary force during demonstrations in November. Iran also executed two men on December 12 last year. They too had been convicted of having taken the life of a soldier. The murdered men are said to have been denied access to the evidence against them, according to The Guardian. The trials were also held behind closed doors. ONE OF THE DEMONSTRATORS: The authorities in Iran carried out a public execution of a man in the city of Mashhad in December. Photo: AFP A further 18 Iranians have so far been sentenced to death. Up to 100 demonstrators will also be prosecuted for conditions that could lead to the death penalty, according to the UN. The High Commissioner for Human Rights believes that this can be compared to “murder approved by the state”. – Such use of the judiciary to punish people who use their very basic rights, such as participating in or organizing demonstrations, is state-sanctioned murder, Türk states. Unusually harsh criticism According to the Reuters news agency, the statement from the UN High Commissioner is unusually harsh. He emphasizes that the trials have not been conducted in line with normal legal principles. It is said that confessions have, among other things, been coerced with the help of torture. WANT A STOP: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is unusually harsh in his criticism of the many death sentences in Iran after extensive demonstrations. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP – Iran’s government will better serve its own interests and those of the Iranian people by listening to people’s grievances, and by implementing the legal and political reforms necessary to ensure respect for diversity of opinion, freedom of expression and assembly, as well as women’s rights in all areas, says the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights further. The demonstrations in Iran have lasted for several months after a 22-year-old woman died in the custody of the so-called morality police in September. Photo: AP Called in on the carpet The Iranian ambassador was called in to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the two men were executed in the country on Saturday. Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt called on Iran to stop the death penalty when she met the Iranian ambassador today. – In the meeting with the Iranian ambassador today, we emphasized that what is happening in Iran is completely unacceptable and must stop, says the foreign minister to VG. – We have strongly condemned the executions of people who participated in the demonstrations after the tragic death of Mahsa Amini. We have called on Iran to stop using the death penalty and to respect human rights, says Huitfeldt. The Iranian ambassador, on the other hand, believes that the country’s response to the demonstrations is justified. The ambassador claims that over 100 members of the country’s security forces have died and thousands have been injured in the demonstrations, according to VG. He also claimed that the authorities had seized 8,000 weapons and explosives from the protesters. REJECTS CRITICISM: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei believes that the US is to blame for the extensive demonstrations in the country. Photo: AFP Demands a stop Volker Türk is putting pressure on the authorities in Iran to arrange a trip to the country. There he wants to meet the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. – I repeat my call to Iran’s government to respect people’s lives and votes, to immediately introduce a moratorium on the death penalty and to stop all executions, says Türk. He further points out that Iran must take sincere steps towards the necessary reforms required by its own people to protect human rights. According to Reuters, the authorities in Iran claim that the US is behind the demonstrations in the country. They also believe that the unrest must be put down to ensure the country’s independence.
ttn-69
The UN says that Iran uses the death penalty to intimidate its citizens – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
