Iran Uses Lethal Force To Crack Down On Protests: HRW
Human Rights Watch says Iran’s regime has used excessive and lethal force in the clampdown on nationwide protests that broke out in September 2022.
Human Rights Watch says Iran’s regime has used excessive and lethal force in the clampdown on nationwide protests that broke out in September 2022.
In its World Report 2023 published Thursday, Human Rights Watch said Iranian authorities have detained hundreds of activists on “dubious charges” and issued death sentences in “grossly unfair trials”.
The acting executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tirana Hassan announced in the report that the protests against the mandatory use of the hijab are just the most visible symbol of repression.
"The demand for equality triggered by women and schoolgirls has morphed into a nationwide movement by the Iranian people against a government that has systematically denied them their rights, mismanaged the economy, and driven people into poverty," she underlined.
The 712-page report looks at the state of human rights in about 100 countries where the organization works.
The death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police in mid-September sparked nationwide demonstrations, including in schools and universities.
Human Rights Watch says security forces have used shotguns, assault rifles, and handguns against protesters.
“With mass repression, unfree elections, and apparent corruption and mismanagement, Iran’s autocracy rules with all that remains: brute force,” said Tara Sepehri Far, senior Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“Other countries, including from the Global South, should increase pressure on these brutal authorities and ensure there is accountability for their crimes,” she added.
Over 500 people have been killed by the regime forces since the beginning of protests.
According to reports, some of the protesters who were injured during the regime’s crackdown refrain from going to hospitals in fear of arrest, leading to deaths in some cases.
The council of the country's student unions cited reports Tuesday that Ghazal Amiri, a student at Shiraz University, was beaten by security forces during the protests on September 10, but was not taken to hospital. The following day, her condition worsened, and she died after finally being transferred to the hospital.
There are many similar deaths that are not revealed to the media because their families are under pressure by intelligence agents. Iran International also obtained information about a young woman who fell to her death from the fourth-floor window of her home when security forces came looking for her.
In addition to over 500 protesters who have been killed during nearly four months of unrest, more than a dozen detainees have been sentenced to death. The Islamic Republic has already executed four people over their participation in demonstrations.
Security forces and the hardliner Judiciary have claimed that many of the dead protesters committed suicide or had medical preconditions.
Meanwhile, there are several reports about the deteriorating health conditions of the detained protesters. According to reports obtained by Iran International, the teeth of Saleh Mirhashmi, a protester sentenced to death, were broken and his eardrum was also ruptured under torture in prison. Mirhashmi has recently married, and his mother is under immense psychological pressure due to her son's condition.
The number of protesters who are given death sentences in the regime’s courts is also increasing. Ebrahim Naroui, who was arrested during protests in the southeastern city of Zahedan, was sentenced to death by the Sixth Branch of the Revolutionary Court of the city on the charge of "Moharebeh". Three more Iranians arrested during antigovernment protests in the northern city of Nowshahr were sentenced to death on Tuesday. Iran's judiciary said Monday that a court has sentenced three more protesters to death for “war against God”.
Political activist Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, who already served several years in the regime’s prisons, was also sentenced to “corruption on earth,” a sentence punishable by death. He was arrested on September 20.
The judiciary’s branch in Kordestan province also announced Tuesday that Pouria Javaheri is also facing a death sentence for “Moharebeh.” He was arrested in the city of Kamyaran during protests late in November.
“Moharebeh” and "corruption on earth" are vague Islamic-Arabic Sharia concepts that in the lexicon of the Iranian regime means a death sentence. The Islamic Republic considers many acts of opposition or defiance against the regime as “Moharebeh” and "corruption on earth", with the maximum punishment of death.
Clerical judges who take orders from the hardliner Judiciary convict people to death without a real trial, often with no defense lawyers and behind closed doors. The defendants have no way of challenging state evidence or introducing witnesses.
According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization, at least 109 Iranian protesters are currently at risk of execution or facing death sentences, but the number seems to be much higher with new cases revealed almost every day. The rights organization also stressed that repression through arbitrary arrests, physical torture, sexual assault and rape in detention and the mass issuance of sentences has been intensified.