Alinejad Given Police Protection On UK Visit After Renewed Threats

But in a bitter twist of fate, the prisoners’ families were violently dispersed by security forces using teargas, batons and warning shots, with no chance to say goodbye, or see their loved ones for one final word.

"A family member of one of the prisoners was taken to the hospital after being beaten by the forces and he is in critical condition,” a human rights group cited an unnamed source as saying, the brutal scenes compounding the pain of the families pleading for amnesty for their loved ones.

Three inmates were executed at Ghezel Hesar prison in the city of Karaj while another four were hanged at Rajai Shahr Prison also in Karaj. The charges for the executed prisoners were announced as drug trafficking and rape and have been part of a spree of killings by the Islamic Republic in recent weeks.

The number of executions started to rise after President Ebrahim Raisi – the former head of the country’s notorious judiciary -- took office in August 2021 but the recent exponential spike has triggered concern at home and abroad. 

The United Nations said Tuesday that Iran has executed 209 people so far this year, calling the record "abominable". The Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran 2021, published by Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and Paris-based Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort or ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty), said at least 333 people were executed in 2021, about two thirds of whom were during Raisi’s administration. This was up from 267 in 2020.

In 2022, executions rose by about 80 percent, with at least 582 people put to death. Several right groups such as IHRNGO, ECPM, and the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) described the rise as the authorities’ tactic to "spread fear" among protesters.

A glance at the HRANA’s 2022 reports on Iran's rights violations clearly shows a sharp upward trend in the reported cases since mid-September when the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa (Jina) Amini died in the custody of the so-called “morality police,” following which protests swept across the country. 

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Iranian social media users have launched a twitter campaign calling on the regime to stop the executions, particularly of prisoners of conscience. The Persian translation of the hashtag “we are all together” had been retweeted about 300,000 times by mid-Wednesday.

The global community has also been vocal about the exponential rise in the number of executions, with many officials condemning the acts and calling on the regime to halt the hangings.

Two Iranians jailed for insulting religious entities were hanged on Monday, strengthening speculation that the killing spree aims to intimidate people against further protests. Moreover, Iran executed Iranian-Swedish political activist and former leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA) Habib Chaab (Asyud) on Saturday for “corruption on earth”.

Speaking to Iran International, the Canadian foreign ministry called the executions of the three activists hanged in the past few days “appalling,” urging the Islamic Republic to abolish capital punishment.

Australian Senator Jordon Steele-John, a political sponsor of Majid Kazemi -- among four men accused of being involved in the deaths of three IRGC’s Basij militia members during anti-government protests in the city of Isfahan – called on the Federal Government and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong “to have an urgent meeting with her Iranian counterpart to do all they can to prevent the execution of Majid, which could happen at any moment”.

On Tuesday, the sentiments were echoed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. ”On average so far this year, over 10 people are put to death each week in Iran, making it one of the world's highest executors,” she said. And as numbers continue to climb, it looks unlikely to stop any time soon, with the regime doing all it can to spread fear among its people.

The Washington-based organization said the Women, Life, Freedom movement has demonstrated remarkable courage and resilience in the face of ongoing persecution and discrimination by Iran's oppressive regime.

“From all walks of life, the women of Iran are putting themselves on the line with unbelievable bravery. The international community must stand with the women of Iran as they continue their fight for freedom in the face of horrific repression and human rights abuses,” said Michael J. Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House.

The non-profit organization honored the rapid response of the movement after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September, with rallies being held in over 100 cities nationwide.

Protesters clashed with security forces, expressing their anger over violence against women and the broader suppression of basic freedoms. The regime responded with a harsh crackdown, targeting protesters in the country’s Kurdish region in particular.

Over 19,700 people have been arrested and 530 have been killed since the protests began in September. Iran has been rated 'Not Free' by the Freedom in the World report since 1979, scoring 12/100 in the Freedom In The World 2023 report.

“The struggle for freedom and human rights requires the unwavering commitment of individuals and communities around the world,” added Abramowitz.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian democratic opposition leader and historian was awarded the honor next to the women of Iran for his relentless fight against corruption and repression in Putin’s Russia.

The Coordinating Council of Teachers' Union Organizations had called for further protests last week just hours after the Supreme Leader failed to address nationwide school poisonings.

The rallies were scheduled as a tribute to Jabbar Baghcheban, also known as Mirza Jabbar Asgarzadeh, an Iranian inventor and educator born on May 9, 1886, who established the first Iranian kindergarten and the first deaf school.

The council stressed the necessity of ending the "dominance of the ruling totalitarian ideology" in Iranian schools, claiming the current incompetent managers of the educational system should be replaced by those educated under more modern, secular pedagogy.

In addition to their usual demands such as better salaries and working conditions, the teachers’ council reiterated that Iran’s education system will not improve without a fundamental change.

In response, teachers in the cities of Kermanshah, Arak, Shush, Ahvaz, Torbat Heydarieh, Hamedan, Sanandaj, Eslamabad-e Gharb, Qazvin, Esfahan and Harsin gathered in front of the Education Departments on Tuesday.

Gatherings were held peacefully in some cities, but in Sanandaj west of Iran and Esfahan in the center the police force attacked protesters.

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Hengaw Human Rights Organization, a Kurdish rights group, reported that the security forces have kidnapped two teachers in the city.

In its final statement, The Coordinating Council of Teachers' Union Organizations slammed the ideological indoctrination in textbooks, creating psychological insecurity and threatening the female students, and urged attention to the livelihood of the teachers.

“The goal of the education system is not to train citizens, but to train soldiers aligned with the narrow-minded indoctrination of totalitarian ideology," reads the statement.

Referring to the nationwide uprising following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, the statement added what was seen in the schools and streets was the failure of a model that ignores the deep changes in society which wants to achieve its unrealistic ideals in the educational system.

Hundreds of schools in the Iranian provinces have been attacked by unidentified gases since November 30 when the first case of poisoning among schoolgirls was reported in the religious city of Qom. However, the government has not taken any tangible measures to identify and pursue the perpetrators, nor to explain to terrified parents and students what was happening, other than a few staged arrests. It is impossible such wide scale attacks could happen without regime approval.

Thousands of students have been affected, mostly girls, with hundreds hospitalized with symptoms including respiratory distress, numbness in their limbs, heart palpitations, headaches, nausea, and vomiting.

Critics of the regime say the attacks are part of a crackdown on protests, a claim denied by government officials who have claimed the symptoms are the result of mass hysteria.

Families of students have staged protest rallies urging officials to hold classes virtually rather than in school to protect children from further attacks.

“We condemn these executions....The United States will continue to take appropriate action in accordance with our allies and partners to continue to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its egregious human rights abuses,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel on Monday.

Two Iranian men were executed on Monday for "blasphemy." They were accused of making remarks on a Telegram channel called "Critique of Superstition and Religion."

Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli-Zare' were hanged following the execution of an Iranian-Swedish national with dual citizenship, Habib Farajollah Chaab, who was executed on Saturday.

“The US does not hesitate to take action when it comes to this, specifically targeting some of the human rights atrocities that we have seen take place from the regime in Tehran,” underlined Patel.

There have been relatively few hangings of people convicted of blasphemy in recent years, though the Iranian law permits execution for such offenses.

A report by Amnesty International has found that Iran annually executes more people than any other country except China.

According to Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), in 2022, the Islamic Republic executed 582 people, the highest number since 2015. IHR also reports that 208 people have been executed to date in 2023.

Ali Salehi, Tehran's prosecutor general, issued arrest warrants on Monday for dozens of US officials involved in the assassination including Trump, Pompeo, and former Head of CENTCOM General Kenneth Franklin McKenzie.

On January 3, 2020, the US military, on the order of President Donald Trump, killed Soleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport, saying that he had been "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region."

Soleimani, who was Iran’s top military and intelligence operator outside its borders, was in charge of supporting and organizing militant proxy forces, including the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite militia groups that have repeatedly attacked US forces.

“Those convicted of involvement in the crime must be sentenced by a competent court under the guilty plea,” Salehi added.

The official stated he sent requests for judicial cooperation to nine countries that might have played a role in the assassination.

In 2020, Iran issued an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump and 35 other people over the drone strike that killed a Soleimani.

Tehran had also asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for the 36 individuals but the request was dismissed, explaining it was not in accordance with its rules and constitution. It said: “It is strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.”