Iran’s execution of a protestor has sparked great anger among the Iranian people. After authorities announced that 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari was hanged on Thursday, people took to the streets to protest the execution.
Iranians took to social media, saying that Shekari was tried hastily and unfairly and was killed to intimidate protesters. The demonstrations after Shekari’s execution were dominated by the slogan “a thousand people will rise for every person killed”.
Meanwhile, the Iranian police chief continues to threaten the public with more violence, despite the Iranian regime killing nearly 500 protesters, sentencing seven to the death penalty and hanging one protester so far.
Hossein Ashtari, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic’s Law Enforcement Forces, said on Thursday that the police had shown “restraint” towards the protesters but would act with a more “decisive” response from now on, Iran International reported.
Shekari was arrested on 25 September for stabbing a Revolutionary Guard member in the shoulder during protests and blocking the road to block the security forces.
Shekari was denied the right to a lawyer at his hearing on 1 November, and the Supreme Court soon upheld the death sentence.
No one knew about Shekari’s upcoming execution before he was hanged, as Iranian authorities had told Shekari’s family that it would not be “in their best interests” to make a statement about the case.
Human rights activist Atena Daemi said on Thursday that prisoners were hostages of the Islamic Republic and families of the prisoners endured a lot of psychological pressure, adding:
“It is natural that families do whatever the hostage-taker wants to save the lives of their loved ones, but experience has proven that the silence makes the situation of the prisoner worse. Because the target of the Islamic Republic is not one person. It uses hostage-taking and death sentence and imprisonment to suppress the whole society.”
Nearly 24 hours after his execution, Mohsen Shekari was buried without any public disclosure and with the presence of a limited number of family members among a large number of Islamic Republic forces.
Kurdish rapper Saman Yasin (27), who was arrested in a raid on his home on 2 October and sentenced to death, was put in a cell in the Racayî City Prison and could be executed at any time as well, Mezopotamya Agency reported. Saman Yasin’s lawyer announced that he went to prison on Thursday, but was not allowed to meet with his client.