Iran's plan to execute 3 protesters sparks huge backlash

https://news.yahoo.com/irans-plan-execute-3-protesters-091800474.html

Seyed Bathaei
,CBS News•July 17, 2020

Several high-profile executions and a number of death sentences handed down by Iran's judiciary system — including against three anti-government protesters — have caught the world's attention and sent a fresh wave a fear, and defiance, through Iranian society. State executions aren't new in Iran, and there are a wide range of charges that can carry the death penalty, but the uptick in recent weeks appears to have a clear goal.

•••••

Morteza Jamali, a 55-year-old father of two, was executed last week after being found guilty of drinking alcohol more than three times, Amnesty International said, citing the man's lawyer. Local justice officials defended the sentence and warned that the government would not hesitate to execute anyone deemed a threat to law and order.

•••••

The cases that have galvanized public opinion the most, however, are those of three young men accused of taking part in anti-government protests last November. Amirhossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohamad Rajabi, all in their 20s, were condemned after participating in the protests sparked by a hike in gas prices.

The men were sentenced to death in February after confessing to "vandalism and arson with the intent to confront and engage in war with the Islamic Republic of Iran." All three men have said they were forced to make false confessions under harsh treatment in prison.

The sentences have sparked a huge outcry online, with almost 10 million tweets and retweets using the Persian language "#do_not_execute" hashtag since Tuesday, when the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences.

•••••

Former Iranian prisoners lucky enough to be released and leave the country have said forced confessions are common in Iran. Survivors have described physical and mental torture in Iranian prisons, and said their family members were also put under pressure to get them to make recorded confessions that are often aired on state TV.

The motivation

Many Iranian political analysts believe, though they're reluctant to speak publicly, that the recent death sentences have been handed down as part of an effort to discourage new protests, which the government can ill afford right now.

•••••