Iranian women protest inside the prison against the executions

2023-05-24 10:31:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A group of women imprisoned for political reasons held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison have organized a protest against the recent execution of three protesters.

They also protested against the increased use of the death penalty, which has been widely criticized by human rights groups and governments around the world.

According to reports published on May 23 on social media, some of the most prominent female political prisoners, including Sepideh Gholian, Bahareh Hedayat, Faezeh Hashemi and Narges Mohammadi, participated in a protest inside the prison, where they each issued statements calling condemned the wave of executions.

Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, another prisoner, said: "The female political prisoners of Evin prison held a ceremony on Saturday [May 20] in the courtyard of the women's ward to protest the recent executions, including the execution of two people in the prison of Araki on the charge of blasphemy [blasphemy], and the last three executions in Isfahan".

Iraee, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in April for crimes "against the regime", said that "the nature of this regime is to physically eliminate opponents, critics and those who protest against its policies".

It is not known whether the women were punished for the protest.

Iran's judiciary, prodded by senior leaders, has taken a tough stance against protesters demonstrating against the death of Mahsa Amini in September.

The 22-year-old died while being held in police custody in Tehran after being stopped for not wearing the headscarf properly.

Her death sparked outrage across the country, prompting tens of thousands of people, led by women and students, to take to the streets demanding more freedom.

The heavy-handed response by Iranian security forces has intensified protests, with many calling for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni to step down.

So far, Iranian authorities have executed at least seven protesters.

Jailed activist Mohammadi said the government is "retaliating against the revolutionary movement in a brutal way by executing and killing people".

"The Iran of 2023 is not the Iran of the 1980s. If the purpose of the executions in the 80s was to create fear, terror and suppress various currents and tendencies, the latest executions will have the opposite effect," she said.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights Group says at least 275 people have been executed in Iran this year, including at least 90 in the past three weeks, making May the country's "bloodiest month" in five last years.

Activist Gholian, arrested earlier this month after publicly criticizing Khamenei, said during the protest that "our mission is now clearer. They will leave before all the oil reserves are gone. We will dance with passion in the homeland ours".

Vida Rabbani, Nasrin Khazri Javadi, Shakila Manfred, Zohreh Sarv and Mahvash Shahriari were the other political prisoners who participated in the rally inside the prison./ Rel