Execution is Iran’s red line

By Pejman Amiri  -  On November 12 and 14, six prisoners were hanged in Orumieh prison, North West of Iran, and three prisoners were hanged in Rasht prison, north of Iran. The number of executions recorded in the first two weeks of November amounts to 37 people. Iranian regime has been executing its citizen for the last 37 years under different pretexts. Based on a U.N. statement, Iran had the world’s highest execution rate per capita last year. The statement says that in 2015 alone, at least 966 people were executed.

In negotiation between the European Union and Iran concerning the formation of an office for EU in Tehran, the issue of Human Rights was raised.

On November 11, in an interview with ILNA, state news agency, Majid Takhte Ravanchi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, and Iran’s representative in the talks with the EU said: "Execution is a red line for the regime and cannot be put aside."

On November 14, regarding the same issue, Larijani, the head of Iranian regime’s judiciary, also said: European Union must "know that their remarks about rejection of Qessas (retaliation) and execution denies our people's rights."

The reason that execution is a red line for the Iranian regime is because the pillars of the Iranian regime, and its existence is based on executions and export of terrorism, and if they put aside one of these pillars the regime would collapse.   

For the last 37 years this regime has been able to survive merely by execution and suppression, and current daily executions are in continuation of 1988 genocide and massacre of political prisoners. Last August, an audio tape of a meeting of late Ayatollah Montazeri, the former successor of Khomeini, with officials of the regime in summer of 1988, revealed how the regime carried out a genocide in Iran. In summer of 1988, in the span of a few months, the Iranian regime massacred over 30,000 political prisoners, most of whom were members and supporters of the main opposition group, the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).  This massacre was carried out following a decree by the Supreme Leader Khomeini, who ordered all political prisoners loyal to the PMOI to be immediately executed. 

Iranian regime was never held accountable for the 1988 genocide and the executions and violations of Human rights afterwards. Obama administration for 8 years, by pursuing an appeasement policy, not only did not hold the regime accountable for their crimes, but contrarily turned a blind eye to their crimes, and by offering large concessions followed a rapprochement policy.

Now with the change of administration in the US, and end of Obama era, there should be an end to the policy of appeasement, and turning blind eye to massacre and execution of Iranian people by this regime; any political and economic relationship with this regime must be conditioned to halt of executions.  Also regime's dossier must be referred to the UN Security Council for 37 years of committing crimes against humanity, including the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.