Jailed Nobel Laureate Mohammadi Denounces Iran’s “Execution Machine”

Iranian human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who is incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin prison, has denounced a spike in executions in the country, calling it a "disgrace to the oppressive and authoritarian system."

"The execution machine has accelerated across the country, conveying the message of the oppressive Islamic Republic to society: the continuation of massacre and execution,” Mohammadi said in a letter published on her Instagram page on November 26.

“I do not consider it anything other than the ‘war’ of the government with all its tools of suppression and death against the oppressed, protesting, and defenseless people of Iran," she added.

Mohammadi made the comments after last week’s execution of a 17-year-old boy who had been convicted of murder and a 21-year-old protester accused of killing a member of the security forces during protests that swept the country in 2022.

The activist warned that such executions will inevitably escalate popular protests over time.

She urged Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, to take decisive and swift action to halt executions in Iran "in the name of humanity."

Iran has seen a dramatic surge in executions following the eruption of nationwide protests in September 2022, drawing widespread condemnation, with critics saying the authorities are seeking to spread fear among the population.

Human rights groups say many judgments are rushed through the judiciary while grossly unfair trials and forced confessions are routine.

Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month for keeping up her fight against the “oppression of women” in her country despite numerous arrests and spending years behind bars.