A letter to Javaid Rehman “No to Execution”
Mr. Javaid Rehman
Iran Special Rapporteur on Human Right
Stop the wave of executions in Iran
Dear Mr. Javaid Rehman,
We are well aware that the news about the recent executions of a number of protestors in Iran has reached your office. It is shocking and alarming. The executions of Mohsen Shekari in Tehran and Majid Reza Rahnavard in Mashhad occurred just a few weeks after their imprisonment. Swift court judgements without the presence of defense lawyers and any proof of guilt have shocked the human rights advocates and us Iranians as well as others who have followed the events of the past 3 months in Iran.
The Islamic regime in Iran, has chosen to resort to the ultimate act of terror to silence the people who have demonstrated across the country and beyond. The Islamic regime is well aware that it is losing all legitimacy in Iran and in the international community and instead of seeking ways to respond to the demands of the people, it continues to take measures which are barbaric and brutal.
Peaceful demonstrators all over the country are facing armed gangs who shoot at them in close range with live ammunition. In many cases when pellets are used, women are targeted differently than men. The shooters target women’s faces, especially their eyes and their genitals while men receive bullets in their legs and backsides.
As soon as they are detained, both men and women are subjected to violent beating and torture and kept in clandestine places where bewildered families are not allowed visits or news of their loved ones. In the most recent execution in the city of Mashhad, Majid Reza Rahavand was allowed a short visit by his mother without knowing that it would be the last. The next day, at 7 am, she was informed that her son was hanged and buried in no.. cemetery.
So far 69 children have been murdered in various ways during the 3 months protests. The semi-official number of adults dead has reached 493. We are certain that the number is far greater than this.
The unofficial number of detainees has reached over 17,000. There are no official records of the places where this large number are kept and what is their legal status? How are they being treated? Do they get medical attention if required? Will they have access to a defense lawyer?
Our immediate concern is the current strategy the Islamic State has chosen and that is issuing swift death sentences and carrying them in the public as in the case of Majid Reza Rahnavard.
As special rapporteur on Iran, we would want you to use all possible international channels to stop these horrific executions of young protestors.
The Islamic regime in Iran has chosen the extreme method of intimidation to quash the legitimate protests of the Iranian people which is a protest against tyranny, corruption and devastation of human and non-human resources of the country. We urge you to seek ways to stop them from these acts of total horror before more young Iranians are hanged in near future.
The Campaign to Stop Honor Killings warns of a horrifying spike in executions in Iran. We believe that the death penalty is violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment
We urge you to use all possible mechanisms in the United Nations to completely stop the death penalty in Iran. The lives of at least 17,000 prisoners who were arrested in the recent protests are in the hands of the Islamic regime in Iran.
The Campaign to Stop Honor Killings in Iran
International Coalition Against Violence in Iran (ICAVI)
Women E-learning Leadership
Women For Sustainable Freedom & Equality
Zanan Group in Northern California
Iranian Culture & Club of Fresno
Iranian Women Association of Parto, Germany
Committees of Iranian women against stoning. Paris
Special Consultant Appointed by the UN ECOSOC
Women’s Independence and Sustainable Equality
The Esmail Khoi Foundation
Iranian Freedom and Welfare Party
