Execution Of Young Protester Sparks Deep Anger Among Iranians

Spearheaded by Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), the resolution condemned the Islamic Republic’s security forces for their violent response to Iranian citizens who have taken to the streets for their fundamental human rights. 

An identical resolution was also introduced in the House of Representatives by Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The text of the resolution acknowledges common protest chants on streets, including "Women, life, freedom!"; “Iranians die but will not be suppressed!” and “Death to the dictator” referring to Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei.

The resolution is aimed at garnering support for internationally coordinated measures against the regime, calling for continued efforts to hold those violating human rights accountable, including through additional sanctions. It also specifically stressed the importance for the United States government and the broader international community to provide additional support for access to digital communications and internet freedom given reports that the regime is blocking internet access out of fear of its citizens. 

Hailing the popular uprising of Iranians, Menendez said, “Nearly three months since the brutal detention, beating, and murder of Mahsa Amini, the courage and defiance the Iranian people continue to display in the face of the regime’s brutality has served as an extraordinary example for all of us and everyone around the world who believes all people deserve a say in their livelihoods and way of life.”

He also expressed hope that the Congressional approval of this bipartisan, bicameral resolution will “help amplify the voices of the hundreds of thousands of women and men of Iran who are protesting against the brutality of one of the world’s most repressive regimes.”

Calling on the international community to stand with the people of Iran, Menendez said he is committed to keep the Committee’s spotlight on the Iranian regime’s crackdowns, shutdowns, and deflections in response to the demands of the Iranian people.

Menendez was among the first Democrat lawmakers who had spoken out against the Biden administration's Iran policy and ongoing nuclear talks earlier this year. Stressing the need for a new Iran strategy and an end to negotiations with Iran to restore the JCPOA, the powerful Senate Democrat demanded that Biden should enforce oil export sanctions currently on the books against Iran. Since Biden’s election Tehran has increased its oil exports to nearly one million barrels a day, mostly in illicit shipments to China. 

Endorsing the new resolution, Senator Blackburn said, “Many brave Iranians fighting for their basic human rights are brutally murdered or taken to prison, where they endure harrowing torture until they are executed,” while Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said, “Iranians are struggling for their freedom,”

“Every day, we learn more about the Iranian regime and the lengths they will go to retain power and control. The Iranian people’s fight for equal rights and freedom has been heard around the world as they push back against violent security forces. The bravery of the Iranian citizens cannot be overstated, and we stand with them in their peaceful protests against their tyrannical government,” said Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.).

Ben Cardin (D-Md.) also commended Iranians for “standing up against an oppressive, corrupt regime,” adding that “Iran’s murderous crackdown on peaceful protesters deserves universal condemnation.”

The measures came a few hours before the Islamic Republic executed the first detained protester who was convicted of injuring a security guard with a knife and closing off a street in the capital Tehran.

So far, around 500 civilians have been killed by security forces and at least 18,000 arrested. While many have been released, around 1,500 face criminal charges, and at least 80 detainees face the death sentence.

Four of these citizens have been detained in Tehran and one came under arrest in the southern city of Shiraz in the past few weeks, Iran International has learned.

Reports say despite the Jewish community leaders’ efforts, only one of the inmates has been released so far.

In the early days of antigovernment protests, the leaders of the Jewish community in Iran called on their members not to participate in the protests.

In an unprecedented move, they also asked Jews not to come to the synagogues to practice religious ceremonies.

Meanwhile, some leaders of the Jewish community of Iran, under the pressure of security forces, have reportedly warned Jews in the synagogues that they should not participate in protests and if they are apprehended, they will not take any action to release them.

In this regard, Tehran Jewish Community published an unprecedented statement late November to condemn the uprising against clerical rulers.

The United States on December 2 designated China, Iran and Russia, among others, as countries of particular concern under the Religious Freedom Act over severe violations.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement said those designated as countries of particular concern engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.

Hours after a young Iranian, Mohsen Shekari, was hanged without a real trial, Pina Picierno reacted to his death in a tweet saying, “It is the first insane death sentence carried out on a protester in Iran.”

The Italian politician threw her weight behind the Iranian demonstrators stating that “you will find us on the side of freedom, on the side of the protesters. Always.”

Meanwhile, the Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden urged the international community to be the voice of Iranians.

Margot Wallström said in a tweet that “Mohsen Shekari was executed today in Iran by the Islamist regime. He was 23 years old.”

She went on to say that Sweden and the EU must take action quickly to save others. “The International community needs to speak out loud and clear against this,” reads her tweet.

Social media users are also raising concerns about the fate of other Iranian detainees saying thousands of other arrested protesters may have the same fate.

Mohsen Shekari, who was convicted of injuring a security guard with a knife and closing off a street in the capital Tehran, was hanged as the first detained protester to receive the death penalty on Thursday.

Referring to the Time magazine’s selection of Iranian Women as the heroes of the 2022, Harris said in a tweet, “I am inspired by the women of Iran and their bravery.”

She added that Washington will continue to work with the international community “to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its brutal crackdown on the Iranian people.”

The Time magazine on Wednesday crowned the women of Iran as heroes of the year 2022 for their role in leading popular protests against the Islamic Republic.

The US magazine described Iranian women as “educated, secular, liberal” who took to the streets after the death of the young Kurdish Mahsa Amini to say, “they have the freedom to say and wear anything.”

In the protests fueled by the death in custody of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, women have been on the forefront emphasizing their personal freedoms including the right to decide what to wear. Unlike most protests in the past few years that were triggered by economic hardship, this round of demonstrations is propelled more by a yearning for social freedoms.

Women, who were oppressed for 43 years following the Islamic Revolution, have become a symbol of human rights; longing for a normal life and vitality, which the Iranian people were robbed of for decades.

Dozens of detained protesters face charges or have been convicted of charges that carry the death penalty according to Iran’s Islamic laws.

Nationwide protests that erupted after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini on September 16 represent one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979.

The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, identified the person who was executed as Mohsen Shekari but gave no more details. The specific actions Tasnim mentioned as reasons for Shekari’s death sentence cannot be independently verified.

So far, around 500 civilians have been killed by security forces and at least 18,000 arrested. While many have been since released, around 1,500 face criminal charges.

On Monday, the Revolutionary Guards praised the hardliner Judiciary for its tough stand and encouraged it to issue judgements swiftly and decisively for defendants accused of "corruption on earth”, or Moharebeh, an Islamic-Arabic term meaning ‘fighting against God.” Both these concepts are legally vague term, leaving clerical judges to convict people to death without a real trial, often with no defense lawyers and behind closed doors. The defendants have no way of challenging state evidence or introduce witnesses.

Judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi announced on Tuesday that five people indicted in the killing of a Basij militia member, Rouhollah Ajamian, were sentenced to death in a verdict which they can appeal.

An secret Revolutionary Guard audio recording released by a hactivist group last week revealed that up to 80 detainees face the death sentence.

Amnesty International has said the Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 21 people in what it called "sham trials designed to intimidate those participating in the popular uprising that has rocked Iran".

“The Iranian authorities must immediately quash all death sentences, refrain from seeking the imposition of the death penalty and drop all charges against those arrested in connection with their peaceful participation in protests," it said.

The Islamic Republic, which never allows dissident protests has fully dismissed the legitimacy of the current popular movement. Instead, its officials have accused the United States and its allies for fomenting the unrest. Recently, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran said that the US has spent $55 trillion dollars against the Islamic Republic, mindless of the fact that the amount is twice the US annual GDP.