coincident with the general assembly session on the eve of elections show
In a deceptive maneuver that has been started since several years ago mullah Pour Mohammadi, Rouhani’s Minister of Justice, underscoring the fact that death penalty cannot be ignored said, ” the number of death penalties and its application should be reviewed…. However, death penalty continues to be in the agenda but not as much as it is being done nowadays” (ILNA, state news agency- 29 October 2016). Coincident with the General Assembly session, he is repeating this crude pledge while the regime sent to the gallows 77 people just in this September.
Pour Mohammadi is one of the members of Death Committee in Tehran in the course of political prisoners massacre in 1988. Defending such a crime against humanity, he said two months ago, ” we are proud to have implemented the God’s law against the PMOI, and stood firm in the face of the enemies of God and the nation… There should be no mercy for the Monafeqin (the term used by the regime for PMOI members and supporters).”
There is no doubt that the remarks of Pour Mohammadi and other regime’s officials are on the one hand to prevent ratification of a strong resolution by the UN General Assembly condemning violation of human rights in Iran, and on the other hand because of the regime’s fear of growing public opposition to executions. Accordingly, the time has come for the international community to hold the religious fascism ruling Iran accountable for its crimes, and to prevent it from continuing repression, instead of falling prey to it hollow maneuvers and making concessions to it by helping it get released out of the corner and encourage it to continue executions and killings.
Since two years ago the leaders of the Iranian regime have pledged repeatedly that the number of executions will be reduced by changing the law. Coincident with the sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, or on the eve of the regime’s sham elections, such lies, extremely needed more than before by the regime’s appeasers to justify their deals with the regime, are being heard more and more. Also, in these days that the Justice Seeking movement for 30,000 martyrs of the 1988 massacre is getting widespread, the mullahs’ regime is in more need of such ridiculous maneuvers.
In his report to the current session of General Assembly regarding the human rights in Iran, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon worte, “since 2009, there has been a pattern of executions dropping significantly before polling day then dramatically increasing afterwards.”
Javad Larijani, in charge of the so-called human rights in the regime”, told France 24 two years ago, “we have this much drug-related crimes according to the existing law which they are receiving capital punishment. We are crusading to change this law and if we are successful to pass it in the parliament almost 80 percent of the executions would go away and it is a big news for us.” (5 December 2014)
Seventy days ago he said, “we are against full removal of capital punishment because for some very dangerous crimes there should be capital punishment. Furthermore, there are cases such as castigation that is related to divine Law. Even regarding drug-related crimes, we do not advocate full removal of capital punishment, rather we are after reviewing the law…reviewing drug law is not equivalent to removal of death penalty. …one of the issues for which we execute capital punishment is of course the issue of castigation that… we are very proud of.” (state media- 23 August 2016)
The regime’s parliament (Majlis) has also participated in this deceptive and ridiculous maneuver for the last 2 years. Mohammad Ali Esfanani, the spokesman of the Majlis judicial committee, talked two years ago about the bill of reduction of capital punishment. He said, “the idea of reducing capital punishment about drug-related crimes will be definitely welcomed by many in Majlis…. At the same time the legal and judicial committee of Majlis in the Code of Criminal Procedure that is going to be enforced from July 2015 has referred to commutation of the punishment for drug-related crimes.” (IRNA news agency- 23 December 2014)
Last year and coincident with the session of General Assembly, Mir Hadi Gharaseyyed Roomiani, member of the judicial committee board of directors of Mjlis informed that more than 70 MPs had signed for the plan of removal of capital punishment from the drug law and said, “By ratifying this plan, capital punishment will be implemented only in armed smuggling cases.” He added, “Once this plan has been ratified, all prisoners who are currently in prison will be released.” (state media- 8 December 2015)
Once again this same disgusting game was repeated this fall when the General Assembly started. Mullah Hassan Nowrouzi, the spokesman of Majlis legal and judicial committee, informed of the plan of commutation of capital punishment signed by 100 MPs. He said, “Today this plan is going to be presented to the parliament’s board of directors.” He reiterated, “This plan will cover only those individuals who have carried drugs for the first time or a small amount of it.” (Tasnim- Quds Force news agency, 4 October 2016)
A month later on 30 October 2016, this same mullah said in his interview with the regime’s radio and TV news agency, “We presented a plan with 76 signatures to the Majlis board of directors today which says individuals who have carried drugs or were fallen prey to drug traffickers, provided that they do not have criminal record, should not be executed,” however “those who act as a gang and have criminal record are referred to as corrupt on earth and should be eliminated and executed…we are not against destroying corrupt on earth.”
These deceptive maneuvers are indicative of weakness and fragile situation of a regime that is deeply scared of frustrated people uprising, and has no way forward and no way back in the deadlock of increasing domestic and international crises.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
November 1, 2016