Death Sentence for Protesting against Increasing Gasoline Price in Iran

Amir Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, and Mohammad Rajabi are young Iranian men who were arrested during the street rally held to increase in the gasoline price several months ago in Iran. They are sentenced to death, serving a sentence of 38 years in jail, and 222 lashes by an Islamic court on June 24th, 2020. Their crimes by the jury are considered to be a conspiracy against the Islamic republic regime, arson, and destruction of public properties. This trial has been held based on unreliable evidence or trumped-up charges. Attorneys of these young men do not have access to their documents. One of the attorneys, Babak Paak Nia, believes that these punishments do not fit the crime because defendants protested their innocence and denied the confessions made under severe tortures and interrogations. This death penalty ignoring the fundamental human right has been condemned by more than 115 university professors and activists. One of the most basic human rights is believed to be the right to protest, but these three men said that they did not attend any destructive movement. Why does the regime come down heavily on people tired of it? When there is a breakdown of law and order when riots erupt, and the social fabric is threatened by public disorder, some politicians are eager to take draconian measures, which rarely are viable.

In countries with democracy, if there is a protest, the reason behind the anarchy will be analyzed, while the security forces of Iran's ideological regime are viciously trying to create and intensify violence and destruction.

There is an Iranian hashtag called # اعدام نکنید(do not execute) an online campaign made by Iranians to drum up support to contest and overturn the death verdict for these innocent young men.

We Iranians hope the world can conduct an investigation into such miscarriage of justice, stop the regime from executing innocent people, and make sure that justice is served.