Iran executes two men detained in anti-regime protests, EU calls it 'violent repression'

Iran drew massive condemnation after it executed two young male civilians- a karate champion and a volunteer children’s coach on Saturday, CNN reported. On the morning of Saturday, Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini were hung to death by the Iranian regime for allegedly participating in anti-regime protests that swept the nation following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in the month of September. 

According to state-affiliated Fars News, the duo was convicted for the death of Seyed Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the Basij paramilitary force. Ajamian was killed on November 3 in the Iranian city of Karaj, according to Iranian news agency Mizan. The latest capital punishments bring the total number of executions to four, since the protests began in the country.

Karami’s lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghasi took to his Twitter on Saturday to reveal that Karami was stripped of his right to talk to his family members prior to being executed. He further added that Karami had gone on a dry food hunger strike on Wednesday after officials stopped Aghasi to represent him as a client.

Since the protests, as many as 41 other protesters have faced death sentences, as per Iranian officials as well as the Iranian media. However, the actual figure is said to be much higher. Amid rampant executions, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the European Union (EU) have appealed to Iran to stop handing out death sentences to civilians.

EU, OHCRHR 'appalled' by recent executions 

“We deplore the execution of two more protesters, #MohammadMehdiKarami & #MohammadHosseini, following unfair trials based on forced confessions,” the OHCHR said in a tweet on Saturday, calling it “shocking” that the Iranian regime continues to execute its people in spite of “ international outcry.” “We urge Iran to halt all executions,” it added.

In a statement released on Saturday, the European Union said that it was “appalled” to watch executions, which were “yet another sign of the Iranian authorities’ violent repression of civilian demonstrations.” “The European Union calls once again on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the strongly condemnable practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters,” the EU said.