Protests took place in Tehran and major cities around the world including Frankfurt, London, Vienna, Toronto, Koln, and Paris, among many others, on May 9 and May 10, 2010 after the execution of five political prisoners in Iran’s Evin Prison. The Tehran protests included chants of “Freedom,” and “Basiji get out of here,” and “Students would rather die than surrender to oppression,” while elsewhere chants also included “Death to the Islamic Republic.”
Convicted of “moharebeh” (enmity against God) Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydarian, Farhad Vakili, Shirin Alam-Holi, and Mehdi Eslamian were all hanged on Sunday, May 9, 2010 in the prison. Of the five prisoners, four were Kurds, sparking outrage at Iran’s continued poor treatment of the large minority in the state.
Amnesty International has condemned the act and is calling on Iranian authorities to halt all executions, or at the very least adhere to their own laws regarding their implementation.
The five were accused of “enmity against God” for carrying out “terrorist acts” and convicted of this vaguely worded charge which can carry the death penalty and is usually applied to those who take up arms against the state.
“We condemn these executions which were carried out without any prior warning. Despite the serious accusations against them, the five were denied fair trials. Three of the defendants were tortured and two forced to ‘confess’ under duress,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Citing “security” concerns, the government has in the past often accused activists, journalists, and writers of “stirring trouble and ethnic and racial conflict” and of “working with opposition groups,” including the murder of Shivan Qaderi and the subsequent arrest of several Kurdish activists in July 2005 and the murder of Mohammad Islamian in December 2009.
While this recent act may have simply been a continuation of Kurdish oppression in the country, it is more likely that it was to serve as a warning for upcoming protests on the anniversary of the June elections. Regardless, one thing does remain clear. This was a blatant violation of human rights.
It is quite ironic that while the purpose of these executions was likely meant to deter Iranians from future protests, it in actuality served as a reason for other protests to take place.
Everyone knows that the Iranian people have continued to be upset at the actions of their government — whether they have come out into the streets to protest or not. These smoldering demonstrations, though small, seem to represent a welling up of indignation and outrage as the anniversary of the June 2009 election approaches.
It will be interesting to follow this new trend, as protests of Iranians inside and outside the country are becoming more frequent and can now be expected without warning.