As we close in on the first anniversary of Iran’s nationwide protests that began in September 2022, the mullahs’ regime has resorted to a series of repressive measures to prevent social anger from flaring up again.
On July 19, a judge at Mashhad’s Vakil Abad Prison, upheld the death sentence of Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Thani, a political prisoner sympathizing with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Mr. Vafa’i Thani was sentenced to death on the bogus charge of “corruption on Earth,” a vaguely defined crime that the regime uses against dissidents.
Mr. Vafa’i Thani, 27, among the boxing champions in Mashhad’s boxing clubs, was arrested in March 2020 for taking part in the November 2019 nationwide protests. He was tortured for a long time and sentenced to death after being tortured to make incriminating confessions. After being informed of the confirmation of his death sentence, Vafa’i Thani was taken to an unknown location.
At the same time, the regime is increasing pressure on other political prisoners. On July 17, the National Council of Resistance (NCRI) warned about the medical conditions of 70-year-old political prisoner Ali Moezi, who was arrested in his residence October 1, 2022, without any specific charges. He had undergone surgery before his arrest and was in the recovery period. But the regime has denied him medical care to further torture him. He is currently being kept in the notorious Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Ali Mo’ezi has previously been imprisoned three times in the 1980s, 2000s, and 2010s due to his support for the MEK, serving approximately 12 years in prison.
The regime is also preparing to extend the jail sentence of Maryam Akbari Monfared, 48,a political prisoner who has been behind bars without furlough for nearly 14 years. On July 1, the regime transferred her from Semnan prison, where she had been exiled, to the Evin Prison Court, and accused her of five new charges before sending her back to Semnan. Akbari Monfared, mother of three, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of supporting the PMOI. Three of Akbari Monfared’s brothers and a sister were executed by the mullahs’ regime. Alireza Akbari, an MEK member, was executed in 1981. Gholamreza Akbari, also a member of the MEK, was murdered under torture in 1985. MEK members Abdulreza and Roghiyeh Akbari were executed during the 1988 massacre of more than 30,000 political prisoners.
And on July 11, the regime’s judiciary in Mashhad sentenced 71-year-old political prisoner Hashem Khastar to an additional two and a half years in prison on charges of sending his memoirs outside the prison, insulting Khamenei, and propaganda against the regime. Khastar was arrested in August 2019 by the Intelligence Ministry in Mashhad and was sentenced to 16 years in prison, a three-year travel ban, and three years of exile to Nikshahr in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Khastar has been arrested and imprisoned on several occasions for raising his voice to defend the rights of Iranian teachers and condemning the regime’s human rights abuses.
The pressure on political prisoners comes as the regime has gone on a killing spree in its prisons and has ratcheted up executions. The regime executed five prisoners on July 18, four on July 17, three prisoners on July 16 and 15, and five prisoners on July 13. Since the beginning of 2023, the regime has carried out at least 400 executions.
However, despite the sharp increase in repressive measures, the regime is terrified of the emergence of another round of protests. Protests continue in cities across the country as the people are fed up with the regime’s corruption, mismanagement of the economy, and the repression of freedom. The regime’s officials are constantly warning about the threat of another explosion of social anger. Without having solved the fundamental problems of the society, the regime knows very well that it is only a matter of time before another nationwide uprising erupts.
