The decision to stop execution of a tiny number of demonstrators in Iran could be considered as positive and promising signs in the way to end full death sentences.
On Tuesday, Iran’s top court overturned the death sentence of three protesters in connection with the killing of a paramilitary Basiji last month. Amir Hashemi, head of the judiciary’s public relations department, said that the top court accepted the appeal of three protesters while upholding the sentence against two others.
The three were identified as Hamid Qara Hasanlou, Hossein Mohammadi, and Reza Aria. The Supreme Court also ordered the retrial of 11 other protesters who had been sentenced to prison terms.
In one prominent case, five people have been sentenced to death for their alleged involvement in the killing of a member of the paramilitary Basij force.
They were arrested during a demonstration in the capital city Tehran. Iran has been engulfed in nationwide-protests after the death of a young woman in September for not wearing a proper hijab. She was detained by the country’s morality police but died in custody.
Young officer killed last in November
Rohullah Ajamian, a 27-year-old paramilitary Basiji, was killed with sharp weapons by a group of protesters in early November in Alborz capital city of Karaj. Videos and photos of the attack were widely circulated on social media.
Thousands of protestors, including some police officers, have been killed and injured, or imprisoned during the ongoing wave of demonstrations. Iran said that the root causes of the protest movement would need to be studied in detail. Iran already accused foreign countries for helping people to stage protests aimed at destabilizing the country. Iran authorities called the “riot”, while the world leaders put weight behind protesters and praised the Iranian women and men for standing for their rights. Iranian officials believe that complex consequences triggered by the dramatic events that shocked the country in the past several months require independent research.
Moreover, Iran court also conducted a televised trial of the defendants, in which the main defendants described graphic details of the incident that led to Ajamian’s death.
Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Masoud Setayeshi had earlier said they summoned another 16 people in the case, five of whom were sentenced to death and 11 to long prison terms.
According to Setayeshi, the death penalty was imposed for “corruption on earth” as well as “crimes against security” and “disturbing public order.”
Deadly protests
Since the protests began in September, Iranian security forces have killed hundreds of people, in a harsh response characterized by mass arrests and beatings.
There were violent protests, as officials confirmed the death of some 200 people, but independent human rights groups put the death toll to nearly 500 people.
Iran has already hanged to death two people in connection with the officer killing, while dozens other people are on death row. Iran also accused foreign countries for supporting the demonstrators in order to destabilize the country.
Foreign nationals arrested
Iran’s judiciary on Tuesday has indicted two French nationals with espionage and collusion against the country’s internal security, and found a Belgian national guilty of spying for the US.
Judiciary Spokesman, Masoud Setayeshi said that the verdict against the French nationals is awaited and also an indictment was issued against a Belgian national in a separate case. He did not provide details, but said a probe into the case is underway.
Setayeshi in late November said that 40 foreign nationals have been detained amid protests, but restrained to mention their names and nationalities.
In October, Iranian local tv showed two French nationals detained by the intelligence ministry for alleged involvement in the protests. In the video, the two French nationals identified as Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris had confessed to working for their country’s intelligence agency to foment unrest in Iran. However, France called it “shameful, revolting, and unacceptable”, and said the pair was “arbitrarily detained” by Iranian authorities in May 2022.
In November, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna confirmed that two French nationals had been detained in Iran that brought the total number of detainees to seven.
Iran arrested a researcher Fariba Adelkhah, a French-Iranian dual national in June 2019 and sentenced him to five years in prison for acting against Iran’s national security.
Iran meanwhile released some 3,000 prisoners and 16 sentenced to death were also freed from the death penalty on the occasion of the death anniversary of General Qassem Soleimani.
Soleimani, the IRGC Quds Force commander, was killed by US strikes in Iraq’s capital city Baghdad on January 3, 2020.
