The United States has condemned Iran’s sham trials and execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini terms, who were sentenced to death for charges of efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) linked to protests.
State Department Spokesman, Ned Price tweeted that these executions are a key component of the regime’s effort to suppress protests, adding that the US will continue to work with partners to pursue accountability for Iran’s brutal crackdown.
According to him, “We condemn Iran’s sham trials and execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini in the strongest terms.
“These executions are a key component of the regime’s effort to suppress protests. We continue to work with partners to pursue accountability for Iran’s brutal crackdown”, Price said.
Also condemning the criminal executions in the strongest possible terms, Iran Human Rights warned of the execution of a large number of protesters in the coming days if this is not met with an appropriate response.
Director, Mahmood Amiry- Moghaddam said: “The executions are an extension of the killing of defenceless protesters in prison and have no legal basis.
“The political cost of the executions can be raised by Iranians inside and outside the country protesting more, and the international community to implement more severe punitive measures against Islamic republic, repressive organisations like IRGC and the Office of Ali Khamenei.”
Meanwhile, Iran on Saturday hanged two men, a 22-year-old national karate champion and a 39-year-old poultry worker, who participated in anti-govt demonstrations and whose executions were condemned as a ploy by govt to use violence and sow fear to crush the protests.
The men, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, the karate champion, and Sayed Mohammad Hosseini, the factory worker, were hanged at dawn on Saturday in the city of Karaj near the capital, Tehran, after hasty trials on charges that they participated in the killing of a member of the Basij paramilitary group in November, according to the judiciary.
Iran has deployed heavy-handed violence against protesters since mid-September, 2022 when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police sparked a nationwide uprising to demand an end to theocratic rule in Iran.
Rights groups sayo at least 500 people have been killed by security forces, including 50 children, and the United Nations says at least 14,000 have been arrested.