Many relatives of death row inmates in Iran continued their protests for a sixth consecutive day outside the regime’s judiciary in Tehran demanding authorities halt all executions. Mothers, fathers, wives, and children of inmates sentenced to death held placards and chanted “Don’t execute!” and “No to executions!” protesting the regime’s recent wave of executions launched across the country.
Authorities have constantly dispatched security forces to attack and disperse the protesting family members. The protesting relatives, however, have continued their rallies and chanted numerous slogans against the regime. On Sunday, state police units attacked the protesting families and arrested 20 of the demonstrators.
Despite these protests, regime officials remain steadfast in their ongoing wave of executions, sending group after group to the gallows. According to the regime’s owns statistics, 57 people were executed from August 23 to September 11. This number of executions in Iran in less than three weeks is unprecedented in the past few years.
While Iran’s regime has been continuously executing dissidents and prisoners for the past 43 years, these recent protests by relatives of death row inmates are raising concerns among regime officials.
To this day the mullahs’ regime has sought to justify capital punishment as a necessary response to various crimes under their own so-called constitution. However, the challenge by these protesting families is going beyond the regime’s expectations, especially with specific questions raised in their slogans:
“Until when should we remain silent while they kill us?!”
“Do we deserve to be poor?!”
“We don’t want you to kill more people!”
One young individual in these rallies said, “They have not only executed my father, they have executed us and all our families.” This signals a growing political understanding of the status quo in Iran, the very phenomenon that the mullahs’ regime has been attempting to prevent for four decades now.
Ebrahim Raisi was directly involved in the massacre of thousands of people. He must be prosecuted instead of being invited to the negotiating table#ProsecuteRaisiNOW #NoVisa4Raisihttps://t.co/zkI9xMwfGF pic.twitter.com/C30jx9QaKj
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) September 12, 2022
Coinciding with the families’ protests, reports are indicating a tense atmosphere inside the regime’s prisons where inmates are raising their voices in protests to the mullahs’ horrific wave of executions and human rights violations. Prison officials and security guards are on high alert, taking measures to confront any possible prison riots and prevent escapes from their facilities.
Despite the fact that inmates’ families were holding peaceful rallies and voicing their protests against senior regime officials, the question is why can’t the regime tolerate such simple gatherings? Why did they resort to oppressive measures on the fifth day of these protests, attacking women and children, and arresting dozens of demonstrators?
September 10 – Tehran, #Iran
Families of death row inmates rallied for the fourth consecutive day outside the regime's judiciary to protest executions, especially in Karaj Central and Qezelhesar prisons.#StopExecutionsInIran pic.twitter.com/1zxRsSGgQH— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 10, 2022
The truth is that the mullahs’ regime is in no position to halt their executions, especially when they are facing numerous domestic and international crises. As reports indicate, parallel to executions, the regime’s so-called judiciary is issuing more rulings of gouging out eyes and cutting off fingers of various inmates. These medieval measures are specifically aimed at installing fear among Iran’s restive society and preventing further uprisings similar to that of November 2019.
The protests by these families deliver a blow to the regime’s very core, who know that executions are their main weapon against the Iranian society. The mullahs know very well that any slowing in the number of executions across the country will result in deep rifts that can easily lead to a massive backlash from the Iranian population.
The paradox before regime officials is that the executions used to quell public dissent are becoming the very source of public protests. More people voicing solidarity with the families of those executed by the regime and this can potentially pave the path for widespread public protests that the regime can no longer contain.
September 11 – Tehran, #Iran
Families of death row inmates rallied for the fifth consecutive day outside the regime's judiciary to protest executions, especially in Karaj Central and Qezelhesar prisons.#StopExecutionsInIranpic.twitter.com/xDWcVWQ5Me— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) September 11, 2022