Iranian authorities have executed two men convicted of membership in the banned People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) opposition group, in the latest action targeting dissidents. Abolhassan Montazer and Vahid Baniamerian were hanged on Saturday morning after the country’s Supreme Court upheld earlier sentences that convicted them of PMOI/MEK membership and "armed rebellion through involvement in multiple terrorist acts," according to the Iranian judiciary website Mizan Online.
These executions mark a continuation of the crackdown on opposition voices. Four other convicted members of the group were executed on March 30 and 31: Mohammad Taghavi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour, and Pouya Ghobadi. According to information on the PMOI/MEK website, all six men were arrested and convicted by a Revolutionary Court in late 2024.
The PMOI/MEK group condemned the executions in an April 2 statement, calling Tehran’s actions a "futile" attempt to suppress opposition. The group stated: "These brutal executions will not silence the opposition; instead, they will only intensify the resolve of Iran’s rebellious youth to overthrow the regime." Rights groups have also criticized the spate of hangings. Activists have long accused Iran of being the second most prolific executioner after China.
In a statement following the first set of hangings on March 31, Amnesty International accused Iranian authorities of torturing the men while they were held in prison and then abruptly transferring them to an unknown location shortly before their executions. Amnesty further raised fears of more planned executions, including of protesters arrested during mass antigovernment demonstrations in January, during which thousands were allegedly killed.
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: "It is unconscionable that even as the population is reeling from conflict and mass bereavement amid the ongoing aerial bombardment by Israel and the USA, the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to weaponize the death penalty to eradicate dissenting voices and further terrify people." Amnesty warns that another five young protesters previously sentenced to death could soon be executed after they were moved from Ghezel Hesar prison to an unidentified location this week.
Source: www.aljazeera.com