At the same time that Iran’s regime is drumming up for war in the Middle East, it has engaged in a campaign of repression and execution in Iran.
According to a statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the regime has carried out at least 78 executions in the past three weeks. The regime has been especially harsh in its sentences against Iran’s Baluch community.
On Monday, November 13, the regime executed Mohammad Barahoui Anjomani, Mohammad Karim Bakazaei Akson, and Edris Bilrani, three Baluchi prisoners in Zahedan. The three prisoners were charged with attacking the headquarters of State Security Force (SSF), Police Station 12, and attacking an SSF patrol. It is worth noting that Station 12 was the same police headquarters that opened fire on peaceful Baluch protesters on September 30, 2022, and killed more than 100 civilians, including more than a dozen children. The event became known as Zahedan’s Bloody Friday massacre. Ironically, the regime did not prosecute any of the authorities and security forces who were involved in the Bloody Friday.
On November 8, the regime executed political prisoner Meisam Chandani (Dehghani), 34, in Zahedan Central Prison. Meisam was arrested in September 2011, at the age of 22. In a sham trial, he was accused of participating in the killing of three repressive agents and sentenced to death on false charges of “acting against national security” and “waging war against God through armed action.” He was hanged after 12 years of incarceration and torture.
On the same day, the regime hanged two other Baluchi compatriots in Zahedan Central Prison.
The regime is ramping up executions at the same time that it is carrying out other repressive measures, including purging universities and government institutions of individuals who are not fully aligned with the regime’s policies and ideology. In parallel, the regime is increasing its efforts to bolster its online surveillance capabilities to spy on dissidents. The regime is passing new laws that increase its authority to gather and mine data about Iranian citizens.
These measures are taking place while the regime is fully engaged in a rhetoric to project itself as a regional and global superpower amidst the bloodshed and killing of innocent civilians in Gaza. While the regime is doing all it can to prolong the war and take full advantage of making the region less secure, its main goal is to increase its leverage to protect itself against domestic unrest, which is its main threat and fear. The regime has a long history of using external conflicts as a means to suppress dissidents and cover up its own human rights abuses.
However, the brave of Iran are resolved to prevent the regime from achieving its goals. Throughout Iran, rebellious youth are targeting the centers of suppression and terrorism. Every day, the bases of the Revolutionary Guards, Basij, and other entities of suppression and terror are targeted by the youth who brave the odds to send two clear messages: first, they are unfazed by the regime’s new wave of repression, and second, they are not aligned with the regime’s policy of spreading war and terror in the region.
Through their action, the people of Iran have proven that they are the one true ally of the world community in countering the regime’s warmongering. It is time for the world to stand with the people of Iran in their quest to overthrow the mullahs’ regime and to establish peace and security in the region.