Iran: Drohende Hinrichtungen in Verbindung mit Protesten

Die Prozesse gegen Personen, die wegen Kapitalverbrechen im Zusammenhang mit den landesweiten Protesten angeklagt sind, haben mit fairen Gerichtsverfahren nichts zu tun. Die Behörden ziehen dabei unter Verstoß gegen das Völkerrecht und internationale Standards unter Folter erzwungene "Geständnisse" und andere Beweismaterialien heran, um Anklage zu erheben und Schuldsprüche zu verhängen. Während der Ermittlungsphase hatten die Angeklagten keinen Zugang zu ihren Rechtsbeiständen. Die Behörden verweigerten unabhängigen Rechtsbeiständen zudem den Zutritt zu Anhörungen und den Zugang zu den Fallakten ihrer Mandanten. Der Grundsatz der Unschuldsvermutung wurde ebenfalls wiederholt verletzt, da die staatlichen Medien die erzwungenen "Geständnisse" mehrerer Personen bereits vor dem Gerichtsverfahren ausstrahlten. Zudem führen die Behörden Gerichtsverfahren, in denen Kapitalverbrechen verhandelt werden, im Eilverfahren durch. Mehrere Personen wurden schon nach wenigen Tagen schuldig gesprochen. Diese Verfahren fanden im ganzen Land statt. Mohammad Boroughani und Mahand Sadrat (Sedarat) Madani standen in der Provinz Alborz vor Gericht; Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi und Saeed Yaghoubi in der Provinz Isfahan; Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkour in der Provinz Chuzestan; Ebrahim Narouie, Mansour Dahmardeh, Kambiz Kharout, Shoeib Mir Baluchzehi Rigi, Mansour Hout und Nezamoldin Hout in der Provinz Sistan und Belutschistan; und Manouchehr Mehman Navaz, Mohammad Ghobadlou, Saeed Shirazi, Abolfazl Mehri Hossein Hajilou und Mohsen Rezazadeh Gharegholou in der Provinz Teheran. Mindestens vier Personen wurden wegen Straftaten wie Vandalismus, tätlichen Angriffs und Brandstiftung zum Tode verurteilt, obwohl die Verhängung der Todesstrafe nach internationalem Recht nur für Straftaten gestattet ist, die eine vorsätzliche Tötung beinhalten.

Hintergrundinformationen – Fortsetzung (Auf English)

Amnesty International has documented the torture and other ill-treatment of six individuals under sentence of death to extract forced "confessions", namely Ebrahim Narouie, Kambiz Kharout, Mansour Dahmardeh, Mohammad Ghobadlou, Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkour and Shoeib Mir Baluchzehi Rigi. According to informed sources, interrogators subjected Ebrahim Narouie, who was convicted of "corruption on earth" (efsad-e fel arz) in late 2022, to torture and other ill-treatment, including through sticking needles into his genitals, to compel him to make forced "confessions" in writing and in front of a video camera. An informed source also told Amnesty International that the authorities repeatedly beat Mohammad Ghobadlou, whose conviction for "corruption on earth" and death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2022, and withheld his bipolar medication. A forensic report confirms that while in custody, he sustained bruising and injuries.

To date, the authorities have arbitrarily executed seven people in connection with the protests after grossly unfair trials marred by torture allegations. On 19 May 2023, Iranian authorities executed Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi, who were put on trial in December 2022 and January 2023 and sentenced to death on the vaguely worded and overly broad charge of "enmity against God" (moharebeh). The authorities imposed the charge based on unfounded allegations stemming from torture-tainted "confessions" that the men used firearms in an incident during protests during which three members of the security forces died. However, they did not charge them or convict them of murder for these deaths. On 10 May, the authorities announced that their convictions and sentences had been upheld by the Supreme Court despite due process violations, significant procedural flaws, lack of evidence, and torture allegations that were never investigated. Amnesty International obtained information that the three were subjected to torture while forcibly disappeared and forced to make incriminating statements. Interrogators suspended Majid Kazemi upside down and showed him a video of them torturing his brother and repeatedly subjected him to mock executions.

Since the beginning of the popular uprising in September 2022, the authorities have arrested and indicted thousands of people, raising concerns about the imposition of the death penalty on more individuals. In addition to the aforementioned individuals, Amnesty International has confirmed the names of at least 16 others – Toomaj Salehi, Farzad (Farzin) Tahazadeh, Farhad Tahazadeh, Karwan Shahiparvaneh, Reza Eslamdoost, Shahram Marouf-Moula, Pouria Javaheri, Heshmatollah Tabarzad, Bahman Bahmani, Mohsen Ahmadpour, Behrouz Salahshour, Rasul Badaghi, Vahid Abbasi, Reza Arabpour, Sadegh Ghasemi and Ismail Mousavi Nazari – who are in detention and are accused of, charged with or indicted on capital offences.

Since late April 2023, the Iranian authorities have embarked on an alarming execution spree of scores of people, intensifying their use the death penalty as a tool of repression in an attempt to instil fear into the population and crush ongoing acts of resistance against the authorities and establishment.