The citizens of Iran continue to flood the country following the “hijab protest” that broke out after the death of the young woman Mehsa Amini. In dramatic pictures that arrived today (Monday) from the Islamic Republic, they witnessed many citizens gathered around a prison in the city of Kharaj near the capital Tehran. This, after reports broke according to which two prisoners sentenced to death “for running over police officers” were about to be executed.
The postings on social media showed the mother of one of the prisoners, 22-year-old Mohammed Jobdulu, outside the prison and begging that her son not be executed. According to her, her son was not at all at the scene, where one of the policemen was killed. Human rights activists raised an outcry after the prisoners were taken into solitary confinement, which is often a first step before execution. Their lawyers claim that the two demand a retrial in the Supreme Court.
About an hour ago, in front of Rajai Shahr Prison to save the lives of #MohamadBroghani and #MohammadGhobadlu
“Until Mullahs are removed,
This motherland will not be ours”pic.twitter.com/JjEcJcgfR9— 1500tasvir_en (@1500tasvir_en) January 9, 2023
Four people have been executed so far in Iran after protests erupted following the death of the Kurdish young woman. Iran’s ambassador to Europe is frequently summoned to reprimand talks for the executions. The Foreign Minister of France described them as “shocking” and added that “France reiterated its opposition to the death penalty everywhere and under all circumstances.” French members of parliament even submitted a proposal to the European Union to stop negotiations on the nuclear agreement completely, and to define the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.
Canada’s foreign minister, Melanie Joy, also condemned the executions and said that “two more people lost their lives in senseless executions by the Iranian regime.” Calling on Iran to put an end to the brutal trials, Jolie expressed solidarity with Iranian citizens, stating that they have the full right to human rights.
Last Saturday, two young men aged 20 and 22 were executed after being accused of allegedly “murdering” a member of the security forces during one of the demonstrations in a city west of Tehran. Despite international efforts to cancel the execution of the two protesters, Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the sentence. “Mohammed Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, the main perpetrators of the crime that led to the unjust martyrdom of Rohollah Ajmian were hanged this morning,” the judiciary said in a statement published on the official Iranian news agency IRNA. The same security officer who was killed in the demonstration was a member of the Basij militia linked to the Revolutionary Guards in Iran.
Karami, 21, was an Iranian-Kurdish karate champion who had the Olympic rings tattooed on the inside of his arm. His cousin told CNN that Karami was a brave and intelligent boy who took up karate at the age of 11. He joined Iran’s youth team and later won the national championships. Karami’s lawyer tweeted that Karami was not given final rights to speak with his family before his execution. The lawyer added that Karami began a hunger strike on Wednesday to protest that Agassi was not allowed to represent him.
Last month, Karami’s parents posted a video on social media in which they begged the state to spare his life. His father said, “My son is among Iran’s karate champions and has several national titles and was the fourth-ranked member of the Iranian national team… I am asking you to please remove the execution order.”