Amid internal and regional crises and fearing an uprising by the people, Iran’s regime has resorted to mass executions of prisoners at the beginning of the tenure of its new president. Masoud Pezeshkian has repeatedly stated that his cabinet will be introduced with the approval of regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Thus, Pezeshkian’s cabinet is essentially a cabinet of executions and human rights abuses.
On August 7, the regime carried out a brutal crime by executing 29 prisoners in one day. Twenty-six prisoners were executed in Ghezel Hesar prison and three others, including two women, in Karaj Central Prison. Thus, in fear of an uprising and on the eve of introducing his new president’s cabinet, the regime set a record in executions and killings not seen in the past three decades.
The regime has carried out dozens of executions in the past few days. This harsh retaliation by Khamenei, his judiciary of executioners, the criminal Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and the president loyal to the Supreme Leader is against the Iranian people who seek the overthrow of the ruling religious dictatorship.
The Iranian people have been hostages of this brutal regime for 45 years, and the inhumane regime exacts the price of the people’s resistance with such savage executions.
This level of cruelty and brutality at the start of Pezeshkian’s presidency indicates that, regardless of who is president, whether it’s Hassan Rouhani, Ebrahim Raisi, or Pezeshkian, this regime cannot survive without killings and executions. In fear of an uprising, the regime has ratcheted up its machine of terror and repression.
On the other hand, the increasing trend of executions at the start of the new president’s term shows that torture and execution are common practices among all factions within the regime and are the red line of the religious dictatorship, which it will never abandon. This regime is founded on torture, execution, massacre, and genocide, and these are essential for its survival.
The machine of repression and killing does not stop for a moment to block the anger of the people and popular uprisings. However, these bloodsheds have not intimidated the people and Resistance Units; rather, they have become more determined to overthrow the regime. In parallel with these executions, we witness that heroic Resistance Units respond to the savage executions with daring activities.
On August 6, prisoners in several prisons across the country joined each other in the 28th Tuesday of the “No to Executions” campaign by going on a hunger strike to voice the anger and protest of political prisoners against the continued criminal executions by the dictatorial ruling regime in Iran. During this campaign, female political prisoners in Evin’s women’s ward protested the execution of political prisoner Reza Rasaei in Kermanshah, chanting slogans such as “Death to the dictator” and “Death to the execution government.”
In response to the criminal executions, Maryam Rajavi the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) called for immediate action by the United Nations and the European Union to save the lives of prisoners on death row and to refer the human rights violation dossier of Iran to the Security Council and bring the regime’s leaders to justice.
Silence and inaction in the face of such a regime violate universal human rights values and encourage the regime to continue and intensify its crimes, warmongering, and terrorism.