Dreaded spate of executions – Iranian regime critics warn of Christmas Selenskyj warns of new attacks – the nightly update without photos

The greatest crimes against the Islamic state order are: “War against God” (Moharebeh) and “Corruption on Earth” (Mofsed-e-filarz). The first refers to disobedience to authority, civil unrest, crimes against the fatherland, spreading rumors or slander. The second is the term for gross violations of the moral order. If Iran is charged with both crimes, he faces the death penalty.

After stoning, hanging is the most common form of execution in theocracy. Loader cranes are often used as gallows. Although the law, Sharia, dictates that executions must be public, they are publicly avoided to avoid international outcry.

With the nationwide protests, this has now changed.

Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged in front of everyone on December 12, 2022 as a direct result of the protests. Rahnavard is the first Iranian to be publicly executed. The young man was sentenced to death after only one trial for «war against God». The government charged him with the murder of two members of the infamous paramilitary Basij militia and released a video of Rahnavard confessing.

Human rights groups feared he was forced to testify under torture and condemned the trial as it “failed in any way to international fair trial standards”.

Executions for intimidation

Authorities viciously carry out public threats to expedite the death penalty process and carry out executions, writes Amnesty International. The human rights organization also writes that the government is pursuing the goal of intimidating the population in order to end the unrest in the country.

At least 43 people are currently on death row in connection with the protests, according to CNN. Former professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani, among others, is on the verge of a death sentence. The former defender of the Iranian football club Tractor was arrested in November 2022 during a protest. He is accused of “war against God”.

To keep the high-profile case a secret from the public, the 26-year-old’s family has received massive threats, according to IranWire. But his arrest did not go unnoticed. The mullahs could not silence the family. The case went public.

The Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels, the global trade union of professional footballers, expressed solidarity with the footballer and called for the “immediate lifting” of the death sentence.

A petition has been launched to prevent his execution. So far, more than 1.6 million people have signed the petition. Whether the international coverage will benefit Nasr-Azadani remains to be seen. His verdict is still pending.

Implementation platforms have been established

However, critics of the regime fear that a wave of executions will sweep through the country when Christmas is celebrated in the West. Execution platforms have been installed in public places, CNN reports.

In Iran, too, death sentences are condemned by religious circles. “Even most of the country’s traditional, religious population is shocked by the brutal violence in the name of Islam,” Fatemeh Shams, a literary scholar for Persian literature at the University of Pennsylvania, told the German news agency.

Protests don’t stop

Despite the intimidation, the intensity of the protests has not abated, said David Barnea, deputy director of Mossad foreign intelligence. In a speech, he emphasizes that the protests have challenged the regime and that the demonstrators have lost their fear.

“I think this time we are also experiencing a generational change that has brought schoolchildren to the forefront of the protests – and that is completely new. These children have nothing to lose. All they want is a normal life and they are willing to live their lives sacrifice for it,” says Fatemeh Shams.