Many relatives of death row inmates in Iran protested for the sixth day consecutively outside the regime’s judiciary in Tehran, demanding that all executions be halted. Protesting the regime’s recent wave of executions across the country, mothers, fathers, wives, and children of inmates sentenced to death held placards and chanted “Don’t execute!” and “No to executions!”
Security forces have been dispatched on a regular basis to attack and disperse the protesting family members. Protesting relatives, on the other hand, have continued to hold rallies and chant anti-regime slogans. On Sunday, state police units attacked protesting families and arrested 20 people.
Despite the protests, regime officials continue to carry out a wave of executions, sending group after group to the gallows. According to regime statistics, 57 people were executed between August 23 and September 11.
While Iran’s regime has been executing dissidents and prisoners indefinitely for the past 43 years, recent protests by relatives of death row inmates have raised concerns among regime officials.
To this day, the mullahs’ regime has attempted to justify capital punishment as a necessary response to various crimes under their own ostensibly written constitution. However, the protesting families’ challenge exceeds the regime’s expectations, particularly with specific questions raised in their slogans:
“Until when should we remain silent while they kill us?!” “Do we deserve to be poor?!” “We don’t want you to kill more people!” This indicates a growing political understanding of the Iranian status quo, a phenomenon that the mullahs’ regime has been attempting to prevent for four decades.
Reports indicate a tense atmosphere inside the regime’s prisons, where inmates are raising their voices in protest of the mullahs’ horrific wave of executions and human rights violations, coinciding with the families’ protests. Prison officials and security guards are on high alert, preparing to deal with any potential prison riots and preventing escapes from their facilities.
Inmates’ families were holding peaceful rallies and protesting against senior regime officials. However, the question is why the regime cannot tolerate such simple gatherings. Why did they use oppressive measures on the fifth day of these protests, attacking women and children and arresting dozens of protesters?
The regime’s so-called judiciary is issuing more rulings of gouging out eyes and cutting off fingers of various inmates in tandem with executions. These medieval measures are specifically designed to instill fear in Iran’s restive society and prevent future uprisings like the one in November 2019.
These families’ protests strike at the heart of the regime, which knows that executions are their primary weapon against Iranian society. The mullahs are well aware that any reduction in the number of executions across the country will cause deep schisms, potentially leading to a massive backlash from the Iranian people.
Ebrahim Raisi was directly involved in the massacre of thousands of people. He must be prosecuted instead of being invited to the negotiating table#ProsecuteRaisiNOW #NoVisa4Raisihttps://t.co/zkI9xMwfGF pic.twitter.com/C30jx9QaKj
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) September 12, 2022
The paradox that regime officials face is that the executions used to quell public dissent are now the source of public dissent. More people are expressing solidarity with the families of those executed by the regime, which could pave the way for widespread public protests that the regime cannot control.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTub
