Iran executes 3 protesters, ignores US calls for release 

The Iranian judiciary stated on Friday that three men were executed after being convicted of participating in the most recent protests.

It added that Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeed Yaqoubi were executed in the city of Esfahan and involved in the killing of two members of the Basij paramilitary force as well as a security guard.

The three young men were sentenced weeks ago, and Iran ignored all calls to stop their execution, in a case known as Esfahan House.

On Thursday, the three young men made their last phone call from prison, urging their lives to be spared.

Amnesty International considers the death sentence against the three young men: “A blatant act of vengeance against a courageous generation of protesters for steadfastly demanding the rights of Iranian people during the past seven months.” It called on the international community to: “Take urgent and bold action to stop the execution of these protesters before it is too late.”

Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Diana Eltahawy described the judiciary system’s role in Iran’s trial of the three men as “shocking”.

READ: Egypt, Saudi, Iran account for 90% of global executions, says Amnesty

Eltahawy stressed that the men were sentenced to death using “torture-tainted ‘confessions'”, adding: “Serious procedural flaws and a lack of evidence is another example of the Iranian authorities’ brazen disregard for the rights to life and fair trial.”

Amnesty International’s statement also mentioned the audio recording of Kazemi in prison, where he talks about being tortured by interrogators, electrocuted, mock executions, threats of sexual assault and assaults on his family, leading to his forced confessions.

Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaqoubi had written a letter directed at the Iranian people from inside prison, pleading: “We need your help and support, don’t let them kill us.”

Deputy State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel told journalists that executing Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaqoubi would be a disgrace to human rights.

The Iranian authorities have carried out dozens of executions against activists who participated in the protest that followed the death of young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, at the hands of the morality police.

The authorities indicated that those executed were involved in killing or planning to kill security officers, and guilty of tampering with and destroying public property of the state.