THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 9:00 PM CET
Statement by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Execution of Protesters
GENEVA (19 May 2023) – The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran is deeply alarmed at the continuing executions of protesters pending investigations of alleged human rights violations.
The executions today of Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi are profoundly concerning in view of the reported involvement of these individuals in the protests that commenced in Iran on 16 September 2022, and allegations of their having been convicted and sentenced through confessions obtained under torture.
The Fact-Finding Mission, mandated to investigate all alleged human rights violations relating to the protests, has earlier sought information in relation to the imposition of the death penalty upon protesters.
Iran: Statement by the Spokesperson on Executions of Sentenced Protests Participants
Today, Majid Kazemi, Saeed Yaghoubi, and Saleh Mirhashemi were executed after being arrested and sentenced to death in connection with the recent protests in Iran. The European Union condemns these executions in the strongest possible terms and calls once again on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the strongly condemnable practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters.
The EU urges the Iranian authorities to refrain from applying the death penalty and carrying out future executions and to pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of the death penalty altogether. It is also imperative for the Iranian authorities to uphold the accused individuals’ due process rights and ensure that those who are under any form of detention or imprisonment are not subject to any form of mistreatment.
Iran Protests at a Glance
Based partially on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Network in Iran
Friday, May 19, 2023 – 8 PM GMT + 1
Early Friday morning, the Iranian regime’s Judiciary hanged three protesters in Isfahan’s Dastgerd Prison despite a nationwide and global campaign to stop the executions. Saeed Yaghoubi, Saleh Mir-Hashemi, and Majid Kazemi, who were arrested during the recent uprising, were charged with ‘moharebeh’ [waging war against God].
May 19 – Isfahan, central #Iran
People gathered outside the home of Saeed Yaghoubi, executed early this morning in the city's Dastgerd Prison. Authorities are deeply concerned about locals launching anti-regime protests.#StopExecutionsInIran #قیام_جواب_اعدام pic.twitter.com/uOFCzvvAEO— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2023
Since April 21, the regime has executed at least 116 inmates. At least 576 people were sent to the gallows in 2022, indicating an 83 percent increase in comparison to 2021, according to Amnesty International.
Reports indicate that authorities in Isfahan’s Dastgerd Prison executed at least another four inmates early Friday morning, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. The names of these victims are Yaghoub Hassani, Mazhar Davari, Ali Mehrdel, and Kazem Ghafran. They were all sentenced to death on drug-related charges.
May 19 – Isfahan, central #Iran
Regime authorities are stationing security units in various parts of the city as their concerns escalate over possible anti-regime protests following today's execution.#StopExecutionsInIran #قیام_جواب_اعدام pic.twitter.com/1Jkrs12qFV— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2023
In Isfahan, people gathered outside the home of Saeed Yaghoubi. People at the scene began chanting anti-regime slogans, including “Down with Khamenei!”
According to local sources, authorities are deeply concerned that small congregations might trigger bigger protests and spread to other parts of the country.
May 19 – Isfahan, central #Iran
Locals are protesting this morning's execution in Dastgerd Prison and chanting:
"Down with the state of executions!"#StopExecutionsInIran #قیام_جواب_اعدام pic.twitter.com/1NqJ54lVv9— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2023
Brave youth in Isfahan attacked the municipality branch of District 11 in this city, in response to this morning’s executions.
May 19 – Isfahan, central #Iran
Brave youth attacked the municipality branch of District 11 in this city in response to this morning's executions.#StopExecutionsInIran #قیام_جواب_اعدام pic.twitter.com/JGXqNncwfX— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2023
Following the execution of three protesters in Isfahan, people in the capital’s Ekbatan, Tehranpars, Apadana, Shahr-e Zeeba, Negin-e Gharb, Chitgar, Sattarkhan, and Tehransar districts were chanting anti-regime slogans. Their slogans included:
“Down with Khamenei, the murderer!”
“Khamenei, you murderer! We will bury you!”
May 19 – Tehran, #Iran
Locals in the capital's Tehranpars are protesting this morning's executions in Isfahan.#StopExecutionsInIran #قیام_جواب_اعدام pic.twitter.com/7g55dVooFS— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2023
“Down with the republic of executions!”
“Down with the dictator!”
“Damned be Khomeini!”
“Down with the youth-killing regime!”
“We swear on the blood of our compatriots that we are standing to the end!”
May 19 – Tehran, #Iran
Locals in the capital's Negin-e Gharb district are chanting anti-regime slogans following today's execution of three inmates in Isfahan's Dastgerd Prison.
"We are standing to the end!"#StopExecutionsInIran #قیام_جواب_اعدام pic.twitter.com/b9fhfCONHX— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2023
Locals in the capital’s Sattarkhan and Tehranpars districts launched an anti-regime rally on Friday afternoon and chanted “Down with Khamenei, the murderer!” and “Down with the state of executions!”
Reports from Sanandaj, the provincial capital of Kurdistan in western Iran, indicate that authorities transferred another inmate in Sanandaj Central Prison to solitary confinement in preparation for his execution, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. This week at least four inmates have been executed in this prison alone.
May 19 – Karaj, west of Tehran, #Iran
Families of death row inmates rallying outside Ghezel Hesar Prison demanding authorities halt the execution process of their loved ones.
"Don't execute!" they're chanting.#StopExecutionsInIran #قیام_جواب_اعدام pic.twitter.com/qvZF5X9Aad— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2023
Other such reports indicate four death row inmates in the Qezel Hesar Prison of Karaj, a major city west of Tehran, were transferred to solitary confinement today in preparation for their executions. Their families are rallied outside the prison, demanding a halt to the execution of their loved ones.
May 19 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Protesters are chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
"No to monarchy! No to [mullahs' regime]! Democracy and equality!"#IranRevolution #No2ShahNo2Mullahs pic.twitter.com/hfXvaWRsLU— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2023
The brave locals of Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan & Baluchestan in southeast Iran, took to the streets again following their Friday prayers, launching a new round of anti-regime rallies and voicing their protests to today’s executions in Isfahan.
The protesters were also raising a placard reading “Monarchism – Mullahs’ regime! 100 years of crimes!” rejecting a return to the monarchial dictatorship that was overthrown during the Iranian people’s 1979 revolution.
May 19 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
More footage of brave locals participating in today's anti-regime protests in the provincial capital of Sistan & Baluchestan.#IranRevolution #No2ShahNo2Mullahs pic.twitter.com/532fYDlaRE— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 19, 2023
UPDATE: 10:00 AM CET
Early Friday morning, authorities in Isfahan’s Dastgerd Prison executed three inmates by the names of Saeed Yaghoubi, Saleh Mir-Hashemi, and Majid Kazemi, according to state media. Amnesty International had issued warnings about their imminent execution. The mullahs’ regime in Iran has executed at least 110 inmates from April 21 to this day. This ruling dictatorship sent at least 576 people to the gallows in 2022, indicating an 83 percent increase in comparison to 2021, according to Amnesty International.
Not a day goes by without the bloodthirsty Khamenei shedding the blood of our young people to cling to his abhorrent reign and stave off its inevitable collapse. In continuation of the new wave of executions, the oppressive authorities, under Khamenei’s command, proceeded to…
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) May 19, 2023
Since April 21, Khamenei's execution machine has callously claimed the lives of 112 prisoners. I urge the United Nations, the European Union, and member states to strongly condemn this alarming wave of executions and swiftly implement measures that compel the mullahs' regime to…
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) May 19, 2023
Skincare Company Murad Agrees To Pay $3.3M To Settle Iran Sanctions Violations
UPI — Skincare and dietary supplements company Murad has agreed to pay some $3.3 million to settle accusations that it violated U.S. sanctions by selling products in Iran.
The U.S. Treasury announced the settlement Wednesday, stating the agreement settles potential civil liability over allegations that the California-based company conspired from 2009 to 2018 to export goods from the United States to the Middle Eastern country.
The settlement agreement states that on Dec. 18, 2009, Murad entered into an agreement with an Iran-based distributor to sell its products in the Middle East, resulting in at least 62 exports of Murad merchandise, totaling more than $11 million, to Iran during the eight-year period.
UPDATE: 8:00 AM CET
Iran’s nationwide uprising is witnessing its 245th day on Thursday following a busy day of protests by people in Isfahan backed by other Iranians in Tehran, Sanandaj, and others as they sought to prevent authorities from executing three inmates in Isfahan. As reports began circulating about authorities informing the families of three inmates in Isfahan’s Dastgerd Prison regarding their “final meeting” with their loved ones, activists were raising awareness about the regime’s possible intention to hang Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi. Amnesty International had issued statements in this regard calling for measures to stop the regime from carrying out these atrocities. Nightly protests in Isfahan and other cities led to regime authorities being forced to publicly say reports of executions being scheduled for early Thursday morning were false.
Iran’s Housing Crisis Is Another Proof of Raisi’s Incompetence and Corruption
Forty-four years have passed since the mullahs hijacked Iran’s 1979 revolution and promised to bring equality and prosperity to Iranians. Now, citizens of one of the world’s richest nations are forced to live on rooftops.
“If people want to be close to cities, they should camp on rooftops, and their situation worsens daily as authorities fail to control inflation. This phenomenon will spread so rapidly that soon we will cities surrounded by shanty towns,” the state-run Roydad-e 24 wrote on May 13.
Behind Bars: Massoumeh Senobari’s Suicide Bid Against Torture
On May 14, 2023, an alarming incident unfolded within Fardis Prison (also known as Kachouii) in Karaj as Massoumeh Senobari, a political prisoner, resorted to a desperate act of self-harm. Massoumeh Senobari cut her wrist in protest against the escalating pressure and torture she endured. The revelation comes from a reliable source that recently reported the incident. Currently detained in solitary confinement in the women’s ward, Massoumeh Senobari is isolated from fellow prisoners. The judge overseeing her case has imposed this restrictive measure on her. Furthermore, limitations are placed on her ability to contact her family, with authorities even preventing her from recharging her phone card. These infringements occur despite recognizing every prisoner’s fundamental right to maintain communication with their family.
Global Support Grows for Iranian Uprising and Maryam Rajavi’s 10-Point Plan
In a display of solidarity, parliamentary bodies from various nations have rallied behind the Iranian people and their ongoing struggle for freedom, democracy, and human rights. The Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Ireland parliaments as well as the parliament of the Canton of Geneva in Switzerland have all expressed their support for the Iranian uprising, rejecting all forms of dictatorship and standing against the oppressive regimes that have governed Iran in the past and present. Moreover, these parliamentary bodies have endorsed Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point plan, recognizing its significance in promoting the values cherished by democratic countries worldwide. This global support emphasizes the importance of justice, human rights, and the preservation of human life in Iran.
Is Nonviolent Struggle Possible in Iran in 2023? – Part Four
Without a doubt, one of the most prominent figures in nonviolent struggle worldwide, inspired by Gandhi’s teachings, is Martin Luther King. He believed that the most powerful, complex, and important weapon in a nonviolent struggle is “organization.” A struggle that, under his leadership, lasted for 10 years from 1955 to 1965. After extensive studies, King internalized “stubborn resistance, anger combined with love against all manifestations of evil.”
His serious struggle began with the Montgomery movement, which was about the fair use of bus lines by African Americans. The romantic union of people, providing all their capabilities to solve the current problems of people during the bus line boycott, practically paved the way for African Americans to take advantage of this alliance against oppressive social orders without the slightest violence.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – May 18, 2023
