Inside Iran’s accelerating execution campaign amid wartime crackdown
“They gave no warning. Even the lawyer didn’t know,” a close relative of Baniamerian who lives outside Iran told AFP, asking not to be identified.
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“Even by its own oppressive laws, this was completely illegal.”
Baniamerian, a 34-year-old academic who teaches physics, was sentenced to death along with five other defendants on charges of being a member of the illegal People’s Mujahedin (MEK) organization. All six men have now been hanged.
He is one of dozens of people who human rights groups say are political prisoners that Iran has executed since the start of the war with the United States and Israel, from protesters to alleged members of banned groups to people convicted of espionage.
Iran has resumed executions since the first phase of the war ended in March, which activists see as an attempt to instill fear in the population and prevent a repeat of the protests that shook the leadership earlier this year.Also Read: Iran attack on CIA facilities raises questions about possible role of Russia
The political situation is now even more heated after long-time religious leader Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war and replaced by his son Mojtaba, who has not yet made a public appearance.
– ‘Where else in the world?’ –
Now that the shaky ceasefire has broken down, human rights groups fear Iran will further increase executions to silence people.
“With the breakdown of the ceasefire and the resumption of war, we are deeply concerned that the authorities will exploit this situation to intensify the execution of political prisoners,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO, which has been monitoring the executions.
The IHR warns that “hundreds of political prisoners and protesters currently face the death penalty” and that around 100 of them have already been sentenced to death.
This includes more than 70 people waiting on the gallows in Dastgerd prison in central Isfahan.
The IHR has repeatedly called for what it calls Iran’s “killing machine” to be a central part of any dialogue with the Islamic Republic.
“The international community, especially the European Union, should immediately make the moratorium on executions a central issue,” Amiry-Moghaddam said.
According to the IHR, 24 people have been hanged since the start of the war for protests in January, and two for the previous protest movement that shook Iran between 2022 and 2023.
Authorities say convicted individuals have carried out deadly attacks against security forces or public buildings; But rights groups say they were tortured and convicted after grossly unfair expedited trials.
While 13 people were executed for allegedly having connections with the MEK and other banned groups, 10 people were hanged on charges of espionage.
But such high-profile cases do not account for the bulk of the country’s death penalty, with more than 400 people executed so far this year alone, according to the IHR.
Many people are hanged for drug-related charges or murder.
Inmates at Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj outside Tehran have staged a sit-in since July 13 to protest the high level of executions in their prison, after other inmates were placed in solitary confinement before being executed on drug charges.
In the images shared by human rights groups on social media, prisoners sitting in front of their cells are seen chanting “no execution” slogans.
“These are prisoners who made mistakes to meet their basic living needs, and they deeply regret their actions. Where else in the world is a human life taken at the first mistake?” The prisoners said in a statement seen by AFP.
– ‘Don’t cry’ –
Iran killed more than 2,150 people last year, according to Amnesty International, again making it by far the world’s most prolific executioner after China.
Relatives said Baniamerian had been a “kind and humble person” since childhood.
“He had a sense of responsibility. He always wanted to help,” they added.
“Even in his darkest moments, he chose to encourage others rather than give in to fear,” the relative said.
During his last days in prison, he tried to raise the morale of his fellow inmates and managed to secretly send a voice message to his mother.
“I said goodbye to you and I didn’t know what would happen next,” he said, referring to their last meeting.
In a video smuggled from the prison, he is seen singing a patriotic song in the prison yard before his execution.
His relative said, “The day they took them to isolation, Vahid told them, ‘Don’t cry in front of the enemy. We are proud of what we did.'”
“They didn’t bend.”
