Iran executions: Hope after court confirms death penalty for protesters

There is a glimmer of hope for three young men sentenced to death over their involvement in a protest in Iran following social media backlash.

When Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for three young men involved in anti-government protests, it sparked mass condemnation.

And now, following a social media backlash, it appears there may be some hope for Amirhossein Moradi, 25, Mohammad Rajabi, 25, and Saeed Tamjidi, 27, who were awaiting imminent execution.

Their lawyers had previously said confessions had been extracted under “aberrant conditions” and they were denied access to the case.

The men were charged with “enmity against God” through acts of arson and vandalism.

The three men were arrested in November last year during one of the largest ever protests in Iran.

The protests were triggered by a sharp rise in petrol prices and an economy hit hard by US sanctions.

It’s thought 300 people were killed during the protests and more than 7000 arrested.

The decision to allow the executions prompted a large – and rare – backlash on social media in Iran.

READ: Former white supremacist executed in the US

Amirhossein Moradi, 25, Mohammad Rajabi, 25, and Saeed Tamjidi, 27 are set to be executed. Picture: Amnesty International

The hashtag #DontExecute began trending in Iran, and data shows there were more than 4.5 million retweets worldwide.

However, Iran’s judiciary has now suggested it might halt the executions of the trio, the BBC has reported, with the judiciary and its chief claiming they would consider any request from the men to review their sentences.

Following news of their pending executions, posts such as “I’m next, you’re next, we’re next, do something” and “Iranian lives matter too” began trending on social media.

“I have never seen anything of this scale,” digital researcher Amin Sabeti told Aljazeera.

“It’s one of the rare moments in my Persian websphere to see people on Instagram and Twitter coming together talking about one cause, especially a political argument.”

Politicians and celebrities have also reacted to the decision.

US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter: “Three individuals were sentenced to death in Iran for participating in protests. The execution is expected momentarily.

READ: Iran issues arrest warrant for Donald Trump

“Executing these three people sends a terrible signal to the world and should not be done!”

Former member of parliament Mahmud Sadeghi wrote on Twitter: “(When) we do not recognise the right to peaceful and legal protest, the ground for violent protest is provided.”

Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi wrote: “Do not make people more bitter in this sad time.”

Amnesty International’s Diana Eltahawy said: “Iran’s deeply flawed criminal justice system systematically relies on fabricated evidence including ‘confessions’ obtained under torture and other ill-treatment to secure criminal convictions.”

Meanwhile, there are reports the internet is slowing in Iran as the outrage builds.

The government has reined in the internet before when facing internal dissent.

Confirmed: Significant disruption to multiple networks in #Iran after 5 p.m. UTC (9:30 p.m. local time); real-time network data show significant impact to subscriber internet lines limiting citizens' ability to communicate; incident ongoing 📉 pic.twitter.com/XZ1rNXgRHB

— NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) July 14, 2020

Iran has the highest number of executions of any country in the world after China.

About 250 people were killed by the death penalty last year.

In recent days a man was executed for repeatedly drinking alcohol and another for allegedly spying for the CIA.