The US Office of the Special Envoy for Iran has strongly condemned this week’s “unjust” execution of a young Iranian man who was sentenced to death in connection with nationwide protests against the clerical establishment.
Mohammad Ghobadlou, 23, was handed capital punishment for allegedly running over a police officer with his car and killing him during a protest near Tehran in September 2022.
Ghobadlou faced an unfair trial marred by torture allegations, and appeals to take into account his mental health condition were rejected.
His execution was the ninth in connection with the monthslong Woman, Life, Freedom protests.
“Mohammad Ghobadlou should be alive today. We strongly condemn his unjust execution and the Iranian regime’s continued use of sham trials and the death penalty against those who participated in the Woman, Life, Freedom protests,” US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley said on the social media network X on January 23.
“We express our condolences to Mohammad’s family. Mohammad Ghobadlou and all those who have died at the hands of Iran’s judiciary shall not be forgotten,” he added.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), at least 11 prisoners are at risk of imminent execution in Iran, as the authorities have recently “escalated executions at an alarming rate.”
Michael Page, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, said in a statement on January 23 that Iranian authorities “are notorious for wielding the death penalty against people after unfair trials to instill fear into a population that has mobilized nationwide protests calling for fundamental reforms.”
According to the activist HRANA news agency, at least 746 people were executed in Iran last year.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network has reported on at least 34 executions since mid-December.
Source:
iranwire.com, Staff, January 24, 2024
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