Fears Are Growing That Iran Will Execute Two More Young Protesters

Dozens of people have gathered outside an Iranian prison to protest against the reportedly imminent executions of two young anti-government activists who were arrested as part of the regime’s crackdown on the women-led protests that have roiled the country since September. 

Protesters assembled outside Rajai Shahr jail in the city of Karaj, northern Iran, on Sunday night after hearing prison authorities were about to hang Mohammad Ghobadlou, 22, and Mohammad Boroughani, 19.

If executed, they will be the fifth and sixth people to be killed by the regime for taking part in anti-government protests, following what rights groups have claimed are sham trials. Their death sentences have reportedly been upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court, the last stage before an execution can be carried out. 

It comes after the Iranian government hanged two protesters on Saturday for “waging war against God” for participating in the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died after sustaining a head injury while in the custody of the country’s feared “morality police.”

Iranian courts work directly under the rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s Supreme Leader. They are run by the religious authorities who have accused a number of people on shaky charges, such as “attempting to overthrow the regime” and for allegedly killing members of paramilitary forces, a quasi-official armed unit used by the regime to quell demonstrations. 

The latest executions are the latest in what activists fear could be a tidal wave of regime killings after as many as 19,290 people have been arrested and accused of waging war against God. A further 519 protesters and 68 members of security forces have died in the protests, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

The hearings have all been held behind closed doors in Iran’s Revolutionary Courts that use a version of Shia “Islamic Law” interpreted by religious seminaries in the country, which passes heavy prison and death sentences for anyone caught in any form of protest in the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

People in Karaj prison who have been given death sentences are denied access to their chosen lawyers and family visits before being executed. 

Despite claims of forced confession under torture in the appeal, the country’s Supreme Court has hastily confirmed the death sentences passed during the protests. 

The Iranian judiciary-affiliated Tehran-based Mizan news agency reported the execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini in the early hours of Saturday, just a few days after their death sentences for “corruption on Earth” were approved by the highest court in the country. 

Khamenei has continued to accuse foreign countries, including the US, Israel, and France of meddling and spreading anti-government protests inside Iran. During a speech on Monday broadcast by the Iranian state media, he repeated the claims of a “foreign enemy” behind the unrest aimed at the “strengths” of the Iranian regime.