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Politics

"Wake Up, We Lost Another One”! Second Execution Of Protesters Triggers Calls For More Rallies

December 12, 2022
3 min read
Majidreza Rahnavard was hanged on December 12, only 23 days after his arrest, over the alleged killing of members of the paramilitary Basif force.
Majidreza Rahnavard was hanged on December 12, only 23 days after his arrest, over the alleged killing of members of the paramilitary Basif force.

A second protester arrested during the nationwide uprising of the Iranian people has been executed in the northeastern city of Mashhad, triggering strong condemnations inside and outside of Iran.

Majidreza Rahnavard was hanged in public on the morning of December 12, only 23 days after his arrest, over the alleged killing of members of the paramilitary Basif force. It came less than a week after the hanging of another protester, Mohsen Shekari, who had been found guilty of wounding a Basij member.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group, said in a statement that Rahnavard was sentenced to death “based on coerced confessions, after a grossly unfair process and a show trial.”

"The Islamic Republic leaders are committing such crimes because they need to spread fear among people and save the regime from the nationwide protests”, he added.

Fifteen women political prisoners signed a letter calling for protesters to “occupy the streets…with the slogan Stop Executions, and continue strikes with more power and inclusiveness”.

Golrokh Iraei, Sepideh Gholian, Saba Kordafshari, Narges Mohammadi, Farangis Mazloum, Bahareh Hedayat, and Asal Mohammadi are among the signatories.

Ali Karimi, a former member of the Iranian national football team and a well-known critic of the regime, told Iranians, "Wake up, we lost another one. We have to wake up to be free…everyone must take a step, let's walk together."

In Brussels, EU foreign policy Joseph Borrell said he had spoken to Iran’s foreign minister regarding Tehran’s bloody crackdown on the demonstrations and the latest execution.

“We are going to approve a very, very tough package of sanctions,” he told reporters as he arrived to chair the ministerial meeting in the Belgian capital.

Describing the latest execution as “a blatant attempt at intimidation” of Iranians, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, “We are making clear that we stand beside innocent people in Iran.”

“A system that treats its people in this way cannot expect to continue to have halfway normal relations with the European Union.”

Nasser Kanani, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs promised a quick and reciprocal response to any actions against the clerical regime.

Iran is one of the world’s top executioners and typically executes prisoners by hanging.

According to information gathered by IranWire, a total of 28 protesters have been handed capital punishment after the eruption of the nationwide protest movement that followed the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police. Amini was being held for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.

Security forces have launched a deadly crackdown on demonstrators, killing at least 458 people including 63 children and 29 women, activists say. At least 18,000 people have been detained.

Hours before Rahnavard's execution, the mother of Nika Shakarami, a teenager killed by security forces during protests in Tehran, addressed a social media post to Iranian authorities saying, "You are blinding people's eyes. How many eyes can you blind so that they do not see your crimes?"

"Do not kill, do not execute, do not imprison, do not blind, do not deafen, do not humiliate and depress people. The patience of God and the people has a limit. The consequences of these behaviors will come back to you", Nasrin Shakarami warned.

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