Mass executions in Iran being deliberate after Trump talks finish, legal professionals declare | EUROtoday

This article first appeared on our companion website, Independent Persian

Iran has seen a pointy enhance in raids on the properties of protesters by the Islamic Republic’s army in current weeks, with a dramatic rise in demand for the loss of life penalty, a number of legal professionals have instructed Independent Persian.

Reports point out that the arrests, usually on prices associated to participation in Iran’s nationwide rebellion, have usually proceeded with out recourse to any authorized or judicial course of. Severe prices have been raised on the preliminary indictment stage, some carrying penalties that would embrace execution and loss of life.

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A defence lawyer within the northern Mazandaran province mentioned: “The number of detainees is extremely high and unprecedented compared with any other uprising or protest over the past 47 years. The volume of serious charges and requests for capital punishment by investigating judges is also without precedent.

“For example, in the case of Fa’ezeh Ahmadi, a 27-year-old protester from Mazandaran and a resident of the village of Kardegar-Mahalleh in Fereydunkenar, who was arrested on Thursday 9 January, prosecutors raised the charge of leading a group of protesters during her interrogation.

“She now faces the death penalty on charges of moharebeh (waging war against God), despite the complete absence of evidence in the file.

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“My assessment is that they are waiting to see how things settle with Trump, and if the risk of a military strike subsides, they will execute thousands. Even in recent weeks, however, we have received reports of the secret execution of several detainees.”

He added that in these circumstances, following the key execution of protesters in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and Mashhad, their our bodies had been transferred to metropolis mortuaries. Despite proof of their arrest, officers claimed these protesters had been killed throughout road clashes and protests.

Another authorized skilled, and defence lawyer from Tabriz, instructed Independent Persian: “In recent weeks, several thousand protesters have been arrested, and cases involving serious charges such as moharebeh are being referred to Branch 15 of the Investigative Court, presided over by Judge Hadi Ghafourian.

“These cases are processed rapidly, with no observance of legal formalities or due process. They are not registered in the judiciary’s electronic case-registration system (SANA) and do not even have case numbers.

“Many of the detainees are under the age of 18. Judges are preventing lawyers from accessing these cases, and the families of detainees are under constant threat of arrest.”

A defence lawyer from the southwest Fars province, additionally confirming the escalation of night-time residence raids, instructed Independent Persian: “The pattern of arrests has completely changed. Security forces now enter homes at any hour, without judicial warrants, breaking down doors, confiscating phones and laptops, and taking people away blindfolded and beaten. In many of the cases I have reviewed, there is not even a written arrest record.”

According to the lawyer, detainees are transferred to undisclosed detention centres and subjected to intense strain to acquire pressured confessions.

“During interrogations, charges such as moharebehcorruption on earth, or collaboration with foreign governments, are raised without the slightest evidence. The objective is clear: to fabricate ready-made cases for issuing death sentences,” he mentioned.

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A defence lawyer in Razavi Khorasan province, which is residence to the holy metropolis of Mashhad, additionally instructed Independent Persian that the state of affairs of detainees had reached “a dangerous stage”.

“In Mashhad and surrounding cities alone, hundreds of people have been arrested in home raids just over the past 48 hours. Families have no information about where their loved ones are being held, and their repeated visits to prosecutors’ offices and security bodies have gone unanswered,” he defined.

Referring to strain on households, the lawyer mentioned: “Many families have been explicitly told not to come looking for their children as they will be executed. They are also warned that if they speak to the media or pursue legal representation, the execution will be carried out sooner.

“This is happening even though no court session has been held and no verdict issued. In several cases, officials have threatened to add even more serious charges if families continue to pursue the case.”

Such accounts point out that following the mass killing of 1000’s of unarmed civilians through the current nationwide rebellion, the Islamic Republic has now entered a brand new section of systematic repression, one wherein residence raids, mass arrests, complete denial of the correct to defence, and the levelling of prices carrying the loss of life penalty have turn into the first instruments of intimidation and terror.

Iranian legal professionals warn that if this trajectory continues, within the face of the worldwide group’s silence or indifference, the danger of mass executions of detainees is extra grave and imminent than ever.

Reviewed by Tooba Khokhar and Celine Assaf