Urgent Action: 14 PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN RELATION TO PROTESTS (Iran UA 103.22)

At least 14 individuals are at grave risk of execution in Iran in connection with the nationwide protests, including for acts not involving “intentional killing”, in violation of Iran’s obligations under international law. The authorities have violated their fair trial rights and subjected several to torture and other ill-treatment, including floggings, electric shocks, death threats, rape and other forms of sexual violence. Since December 2022, they have arbitrarily executed at least four young men in connection with protests following similarly grossly unfair trials.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Please take action as-soon-as possible. This Urgent Action expires on June 1 2023.
2. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to the government official listed below. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
3. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 103.22. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

CONTACT INFORMATION

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SAMPLE LETTER Dear Ambassador Ravanchi, I am gravely concerned that dozens of people are at risk of the death penalty following grossly unfair trials involving charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh), “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz) and “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi) in connection with the nationwide protests. At least 14 are currently under the sentence of death and at grave risk of execution. They are Arshia Takdastan, Javad Rouhi, Ebrahim Narouie, Kambiz Kharout, Majid Kazemi, Manouchehr Mehman Navaz, Mansour Dahmardeh, Mohammad Boroughani, Mehdi Bahman, Mehdi Mohammadifard, Mohammad Ghobadlou, Saleh Mirhashemi, Saeed Yaghoubi, and Shoeib Mir Baluchzehi Rigi. At least five others – Sahand Nourmohammad-Zadeh; Hamid Ghare-Hasanlou; Hossein Mohammadi; Reza Arya (Aria); and Mahan Sadrat (Sedarat) Madani – are facing retrials on capital charges after their convictions and death sentences were quashed by the Supreme Court and their cases returned to lower courts. At least three others known to Amnesty International – Saeed Shirazi, Abolfazl Mehri Hossein Hajilou, and Mohsen Rezazadeh Gharegholou – have undergone trial on charges that carry the death penalty. At the time of writing, there is no publicly available information on the outcome of their trials. Dozens of other individuals are being investigated for capital crimes brought in relation to the protests. The individuals have faced grossly unfair trials before Revolutionary Courts and/or Criminal Courts in various cities across the country. The rights violated included the right to: adequate defense and access to lawyers of their choosing; the presumption of innocence; remain silent; and receive a fair, public hearing. Amnesty International has documented the torture and other ill-treatment of 10 of the individuals named above. Documented methods of torture include beatings, floggings, electric shocks, being suspended upside down, rape and other forms of sexual violence. The authorities have used torture-tainted “confessions”, some of which were broadcast on state media prior to their trials, as evidence to issue convictions. I urge you to immediately quash all convictions and death sentences stemming from the protests, refrain from seeking further death sentences, and ensure that anyone charged with a recognizable criminal offense is tried in proceedings meeting international fair trial standards without recourse to the death penalty. I urge you to release anyone detained for peacefully exercising their human rights. I urge you to provide detainees access to their families and lawyers of their own choosing, protect them from torture and other ill-treatment and investigate torture allegations, bringing anyone found responsible to justice in fair trials. Finally, I urge you to grant independent observers access to capital trials connected to protests and, more broadly, immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view of abolishing the death penalty. Yours sincerely, ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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