Iran has executed 30 prisoners in just under three weeks, according to a report by the Iranian Resistance.
This list of executions includes at least two political prisoners and three Sunni prisoners, Hamid Rastbala, Kabir Sa’adat Jahani, and Mohammad Ali Arayesh.
The latest executions came on the same day that State Security Force (SSF) deputy commander Qassem Rezaei instructed his agents to “break the arms” of defiant youth and claimed that the only right prisoners have is to life, which not only shows violations of international law but also seems to say that the executions violate the rights of prisoners.
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This sentence from Iran's Deputy Police Chief Qassem Rezai is evidence that anti-regime protesters in Iran have no rights once they're detained.
"The accused have rights UNTIL they are handed over to the law"
CC: @StateDRL @statedeptspox @eu_eeas @ExtSpoxEU @mbachelet pic.twitter.com/08cnXH7bh8
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 1, 2021
It should come as no surprise that Iran violates international law on the rights of dissidents. Amnesty International has confirmed that they opened fire on protesters in November 2019, killing hundreds, and several rights groups have confirmed the massacre of prisoners in 1988.
The reason that Tehran is increasing its oppression of people now is that they fear another uprising – despite the coronavirus pandemic that is raging – because the crises that caused the last uprising have only gotten worse, including inflation, corruption, and human rights abuses. All the while, the government doesn’t try to help the people but rather wastes the money on missile programs and terrorist groups; something that enrages the people.
But given the increased oppression, documented by human rights groups, shouldn’t the international community step in?
After all, seven United Nations human rights experts wrote to the Iranian authorities in September regarding the 1988 massacre and demanding an investigation into these “crimes against humanity” and the “systematic impunity enjoyed by [perpetrators]”. Indeed, Judiciary Head Ebrahim Raisi and Justice Minister Alireza Avaei were high ranking death commission members.
Well, the European Union has “condemned” Iran’s human rights violations, but refuse to take actions to help the matter, such as ending the appeasement policy or making relations contingent on an end to terrorism and human rights abuses.
Let’s not forget that in December, Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi went on trial for attempting to bomb an opposition rally in France, with prosecutors saying that he acted on the orders of Iran’s highest authorities—These leaders also haven’t disavowed him as a rogue agent.
“The Iranian people have to pay the price of the EU’s failure in abiding by its humanitarian values. The 2018 bomb plot showed that EU citizens also have to pay a heavy price when their leaders maintain negotiating with the terrorist regime in Tehran,” the Iranian Resistance stated.
“The EU should act now. It should go beyond letters and condemnations, and it should not allow the regime to make executions in Iran ‘regular’ for the world community. If not contained, the regime will spread terror and chaos across the globe,” the statement added.
