RISKS OF FURTHER PROTEST-RELATED EXECUTIONS

Dear Mr. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei,

I am gravely concerned that at least 10 people are at risk of executions in connection with the “Woman Life Freedom” uprising that started in September 2022. Among them are Fazel Bahramian, Manouchehr Mehman Navaz, Mehran Bahramian, Milad Armoun, Alireza Kafaei, Amir Mohammad Khosheghbal, Navid Najaran, Hossein Nemati, Alireza Bamerzpournak, and Mehrab (Mehran) Abdullahzadeh – currently under sentence of death and at risk of execution following grossly unfair trials.

The aforementioned individuals have faced grossly unfair trials before Revolutionary Courts and/or Criminal Courts in different parts of the country. The courts have used torture-tainted “confessions”, some of which were broadcast on state media prior to their trials, to convict them. Methods of torture and other ill-treatment documented by Amnesty International against some of the individuals include beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, sexual violence, and deliberate denial of healthcare.

I urge you to immediately quash all convictions and death sentences stemming from the protests, refrain from further death sentences, and ensure that anyone charged with a recognizable criminal offense is tried in proceedings meeting international fair trial standards without resort to the death penalty. I call on you to immediately and unconditionally release all those convicted and sentenced to death, indicted, or undergoing investigations solely for the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. I further urge you to provide those detained access to their families and lawyers of their choosing, protect them from further torture and other ill-treatment, and investigate torture allegations, bringing anyone found responsible to justice in fair trials. I urge you to grant independent observers access to capital trials and individuals on death row connected to protests.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]