Human Rights Group Says World Reactions Needed To Iran Executions

The Human Rights Organization of Iran has raised alarm over the recent execution of Iranian protester, Milad Zohrevand, and its potential repercussions.

Director Mahmoud Amiry-Moghaddam emphasized on Friday that the global community's response plays a crucial role in influencing the cost of executions for the Islamic Republic.

Zohrevand, a 20-year-old protester from Malayer in western Iran, was arrested on October 27, 2022, marking the 40-day anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, which had triggered widespread protests across the country.

He was secretly executed in Hamedan Central Prison on November 22.

The Oslo-based Human Rights Organization of Iran contends that his execution, like those of other protesters, lacked due process and a fair trial, constituting a criminal act. Amiry-Moghaddam held the Islamic Republic authorities accountable, noting that “the international community’s relative silence toward the extraordinary wave of executions over the past months has prompted the Islamic Republic to resume protester executions.”

Expressing grave concern for the lives of numerous protesters currently on death row or awaiting execution in Iranian prisons, the organization warned that an inadequate response to Zohrevand’s execution could lead to more protester hangings.

According to state media, Zohrevand was accused of killing an IRGC officer named Ali Nazari on the day of his arrest. He was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court on November 15.

Zohrevand becomes the eighth protester associated with the Women, Life, Freedom movement to be executed since December 2022.