US Slams 'Draconian' Execution Of Iranian Protester
US State Department has denounced the execution of Mohsen Shekari, by the Iranian regime, saying these “draconian” tactics are meant to intimidate people.
US State Department has denounced the execution of Mohsen Shekari, by the Iranian regime, saying these “draconian” tactics are meant to intimidate people.
State Department Spokesman Ned Price said Thursday the execution of the 23-year-old Iranian “represents a grim escalation in the regime’s attempt to suppress dissent and quash these protests.”
Price also expressed condolences to Shekari’s loved ones, saying Washington mourns his death.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said the regime has “rounded up” and detained thousands of people for their involvement in the protests while many now face “harsh sentences, including the death penalty, in sham trials that lack any due process.”
The US denounces these draconian sentences and the denial of due process to the accused in the strongest terms, he underlined. Similar messages were tweeted by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
“Unfortunately, this is just the latest tactic in the Iranian regime’s ongoing, brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors. These sentences are meant to intimidate people and suppress dissent, and they simply underscore that Iran's leadership fears its own people and fears the truth,” stressed Price.
Iran executed Mohsen Shekari Thursday, the first detained protester to be killed on “legal” basis. He was convicted of injuring a security guard and closing off a street in the capital Tehran.
Price warned the Iranian regime, “The United States continues to coordinate with allies and partners to confront Iran’s human rights abuses, both in public and in private,” expressed the US spokesman.
France's foreign ministry spokesperson said that the European Union is set to approve new sanctions targeting Tehran over human rights abuses in its crackdown on protesters in the country as well as supplying Russia with weapons to be used in the invasion of Ukraine.
Condemning the execution in the “strongest terms,” Anne-Claire Legendre told reporters that “This execution comes on top of other serious and unacceptable violations.”
She added that foreign ministers would discuss new designations on individuals and entities involved in the crackdown and entities exporting drones to Russia. The EU has already imposed two rounds of sanctions since October in the form of asset freezes and travel bans.
Earlier on Thursday, the Islamic Republic hanged Mohsen Shekari, a young protester convicted of injuring a security guard with a knife and closing off a street in the capital Tehran. Nationwide protests that erupted after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini on September 16 represent one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979. So far, around 500 civilians have been killed by security forces and at least 18,000 arrested. While many have been released, around 1,500 face criminal charges, and at least 80 detainees face the death sentence.
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price described the execution as "a grim escalation in the regime’s attempt to suppress dissent and quash these protests.” Expressing condolences to his loved ones, he denounced the “draconian sentences and the denial of due process to the accused in the strongest terms.”
Condemning the execution, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the Iranian regime's contempt for humanity as “boundless," saying that Shekari was “tried and executed in a perfidious summary trial because he disagreed with the regime. But the threat of execution will not stifle people's desire for freedom.”
Vice-President of the German Parliament Katrin Göring-Eckardt tweeted, "Mohsen Shekari was only 23. The Iranian regime executed him for taking to the streets for a free Iran. It reacts with all (un)imaginable brutality to protests. The death penalty is contrary to human rights, everywhere."
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also expressed outrage, and called on the world not to “turn a blind eye to the abhorrent violence committed by the Iranian regime against its own people.”
Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt also denounced the execution, and called on the regime to immediately halt executions, and to end the repression of fundamental freedoms.
Javaid Rahman, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, also said that he is “absolutely horrified, shocked and outraged by the news,” calling on Iranian authorities to immediately stop the use of death penalty as a weapon against protesters.
Vice-President of the European Parliament Pina Picierno said, “It is the first insane death sentence carried out on a protester in Iran,” and reiterated that the EU will always be “on the side of freedom, on the side of the protesters.”
Former Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström urged the international community to be the voice of Iranians, saying that Sweden and the EU must take action quickly to save others. “The International community needs to speak out loud and clear against this.”
Human rights groups are also condemning the execution. Amnesty International urged the world to make Iranian authorities halt all planned executions and stop using the death penalty as tool of political repression against protesters in their attempt to end the popular uprising. It added that Shekari's execution "[exposed] the inhumanity of Iran's so-called justice system as dozens of others face the same fate".
"The international community must immediately and strongly react to this execution," Mahmood Amiri-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights, said in a statement, adding, “If Mohsen Shekari's execution is not met with serious consequences for the government, we will face mass execution of protesters.”
Two diplomatic sources told Reuters that the new EU sanctions were expected to be approved and adopted on Monday. According to one of the sources, 21 individuals and one entity would be sanctioned over human rights abuses, while there had been 10 proposals on the drone side.
Spearheaded by Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the resolution condemned the Islamic Republic’s security forces for their violent response to Iranian citizens who have taken to the streets for their fundamental human rights.
An identical resolution was also introduced in the House of Representatives by Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The text of the resolution acknowledges common protest chants on streets, including "Women, life, freedom!"; “Iranians die but will not be suppressed!” and “Death to the dictator” referring to Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei.
The resolution is aimed at garnering support for internationally coordinated measures against the regime, calling for continued efforts to hold those violating human rights accountable, including through additional sanctions. It also specifically stressed the importance for the United States government and the broader international community to provide additional support for access to digital communications and internet freedom given reports that the regime is blocking internet access out of fear of its citizens.
Hailing the popular uprising of Iranians, Menendez said, “Nearly three months since the brutal detention, beating, and murder of Mahsa Amini, the courage and defiance the Iranian people continue to display in the face of the regime’s brutality has served as an extraordinary example for all of us and everyone around the world who believes all people deserve a say in their livelihoods and way of life.”
He also expressed hope that the Congressional approval of this bipartisan, bicameral resolution will “help amplify the voices of the hundreds of thousands of women and men of Iran who are protesting against the brutality of one of the world’s most repressive regimes.”
Calling on the international community to stand with the people of Iran, Menendez said he is committed to keep the Committee’s spotlight on the Iranian regime’s crackdowns, shutdowns, and deflections in response to the demands of the Iranian people.
Menendez was among the first Democrat lawmakers who had spoken out against the Biden administration's Iran policy and ongoing nuclear talks earlier this year. Stressing the need for a new Iran strategy and an end to negotiations with Iran to restore the JCPOA, the powerful Senate Democrat demanded that Biden should enforce oil export sanctions currently on the books against Iran. Since Biden’s election Tehran has increased its oil exports to nearly one million barrels a day, mostly in illicit shipments to China.
Endorsing the new resolution, Senator Blackburn said, “Many brave Iranians fighting for their basic human rights are brutally murdered or taken to prison, where they endure harrowing torture until they are executed,” while Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said, “Iranians are struggling for their freedom,”
“Every day, we learn more about the Iranian regime and the lengths they will go to retain power and control. The Iranian people’s fight for equal rights and freedom has been heard around the world as they push back against violent security forces. The bravery of the Iranian citizens cannot be overstated, and we stand with them in their peaceful protests against their tyrannical government,” said Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.).
Ben Cardin (D-Md.) also commended Iranians for “standing up against an oppressive, corrupt regime,” adding that “Iran’s murderous crackdown on peaceful protesters deserves universal condemnation.”
The measures came a few hours before the Islamic Republic executed the first detained protester who was convicted of injuring a security guard with a knife and closing off a street in the capital Tehran.
So far, around 500 civilians have been killed by security forces and at least 18,000 arrested. While many have been released, around 1,500 face criminal charges, and at least 80 detainees face the death sentence.
