Death Sentence Against Woman Kurdish Activist Continues Iran’s Campaign of Terror to Silence Dissent

The death sentence just handed down for Kurdish activist Varisheh Moradi, 39, after a prosecution marred by torture, forced confessions, and severe due process violations, is the latest in an unprecedented surge in unlawful executions in Iran that reflect the intensifying use of the death penalty as a tool of terror to instill fear and suppress dissent, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said today.

Women activists and protesters are being sentenced to death, public executions are taking place, child offendershave been executed, and mass executions are being carried out in a surge that has especially targeted minoritiesand seen hundreds hanged this year alone for crimes that do not meet the threshold for capital punishment— one person executed every four hours—all in proceedings marred by severe due process violations. 

“The Iranian government’s rampant and unlawful use of the death penalty is a campaign of terror aimed at crushing dissent,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the CHRI.

“The Iranian authorities think if they kill enough people, they can silence the dissent roiling the country.  But the Iranian people bravely continue to protest these killings, and the international community must forcefully and publicly stand with them and speak out against this state-sanctioned mass murder,” Ghaemi said.

Read More