The US State Department on Tuesday condemned Iran’s death sentences against protesters from the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protest movement, warning that at least 11 people face imminent execution.
"The United States of America calls on Iran to immediately halt these executions, release all those unjustly detained, and end its campaign of repression against those seeking their fundamental freedoms," the State Department said in a post on its Persian-language X account.
The protests erupted nationwide in 2022 after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini in morality police custody after she allegedly violated hijab rules. Hundreds of demonstrators were killed and thousands arrested in a sweeping crackdown.
Demonstrator Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkour was hanged in June after what Amnesty International decried as a "sham" trial.
The rights group said he was subjected to enforced disappearance, tortured into making televised confessions and denied a lawyer during the investigation. His execution, it added, was "utterly appalling" and aimed to crush dissent and instill fear.
Six men face execution after being convicted of killing a member of Iran's domestic enforcement militia in Tehran in the 2022 protests. One of their lawyers said last week that Iran’s Supreme Court has yet to respond to their appeal.
Last week, two Kurdish brothers from western Iran — civil activist Amirali Zakerifard, 44, and his brother Emad — who were charged for their participation in the 2022 protests, were sentenced to a combined 65 years in prison and 148 lashes.
Rights groups say the charges include insulting Islamic sanctities and assembly and collusion against national security.
They say the recent wave of repression is not only linked to the Woman, Life, Freedom protests but has also intensified under the pretext of security following a June war with Israel, disproportionately targeting ethnic and religious minorities.
Between June 13 and August 10, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) documented at least 58 arrests and eight new death sentences, including several people from Kurdish minority.
Since 2022, Iranian authorities have executed 11 people over the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, with many more at risk.
