StopExecutionsinIran

Amir Hossein Moradi, Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi were among protesters in Iran, who in November 2019, were protesting the regime's choices and chose the neighborhoods around the Sattar Khan Street in Tehran. According to HRANA, Amir Hossein Moradi was identified and arrested three days after the protests, by using CCTV footage of the protests;[6] although his lawyer, Babak Paknia, has stated that his client was arrested due to a public struggle over a cellphone and after discovering footage regarding the protests on his phone, was handed over to the authorities.[7] Mohammad Rajabi, Saeed Tamjidi and a third individual by the name of "Shima R." escaped to Turkey the day after Amir Hossein Majidi's arrest, and got arrested by the Turkish Police in Antalya. Even though they were introduced to UN representatives who they informed of the threats to their lives if they were returned to Iran, the Turkish government handed them over to Iranian authorities.[6] The spokesperson for the Judicial system of Iran, Gholam-Hossein Esmaeli, claimed that two out of these three were arrested not for taking part in the 2019–2020 Iranian protests, but because they were involved in an armed robbery, and also claimed that some footage of them looting and destroying public buildings during the protests were found on their phones.[8] It is imperative to mention that according to HRANA, people close to the accused have stated that there were confessions in regards to looting obtained from the accused while they were under torture during the investigation.[6]

A court in February 2020 sentenced these men to an execution under the claim of "being an accomplice to destruction of public property in order to defy the Islamic Republic regime".[9] In addition to execution, Amir Hossein Moradi had also been sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment and 74 lashings for an accusation of "armed robbery" and a year in prison for "attempting to flee the country". Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi both were sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and 74 lashings due to their involvement in an "armed robbery" and a year in prison for "attempting to flee the country". HRANA claims that during the trial of Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi, their public defender did not properly defend them, and to make matters worse showed remorse for their actions and actively condemned them verbally throughout the trial. Shima Eskandari, another person involved in the case, has been sentenced to imprisonment, and the case for "Shima R." is still underway.[6]

The spokesperson for the Judicial system of Iran has claimed that these men had sent the videos of their public looting to foreign media "to boast", and thus "have given the proper evidence for their condemnation by their own hands".[8]

On July 14, 2020, news of the confirmation of their execution verdict was published,[8] and it raised a wave of unrest in social media.[2]

Emadeddin Baghi, on his personal Twitter account, stated that:

As someone who has been writing against the death penalty for 30 years and has been previously convicted by the Judicial system of Iran for this reason, while regretting the recent executions and being pleased with the suspension of another person's execution sentence in Arak, I am aware of 3 convicts of 2019–2020 Iranian protests and the Judicial System has been against it from the start. As the spokesperson said: Article 477 will change the result.[10]

Babak Paknia, the attorney to Amir Hossein Moradi, has stated that:

In our opinion the punishment does not fit the crime. Because it is clearly stated in the transcripts that the accused, in court, have denied the previous statements taken from them under investigation. Based on that one of the judges have not approved the execution verdict and has ordered for more investigation; thus we asked for the continuation of investigation and a pardon.[9]

On the matter of the three accused not having permission to use their own appointed lawyers, he has stated that:

The important thing to note is that neither my name or the two other appointed attorneys have not been mentioned in the lawsuit, yet the names of the public defenders are mentioned instead of us. It's important because the public defenders were excused by Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi. They have composed a letter to excuse these public defenders and appoint Hossein Taj and Mostafa Nili as their attorneys. Despite the fact that their request for these lawyers were denied, the original public defenders were still excused; yet the lawsuit from the Judicial System has been issued with their names on it.[9]

Hossein Taj, attorney to Mohammad Rajabi, in a letter to the spokesperson of Judicial system of Iran has claimed that the accused were illegally denied their right to an attorney. He also criticized the spokesperson's declaration of the verdict before the official confirmation and their claim on the relations between the accused and foreign groups, even though the families of the accused have denied that time after time. He also mentions the accused's claim of unlawful methods to extract confessions out of them. He has also requested that the appointed attorneys receive rights to view the contents of their clients' case files.[11]

During the tweetstorm to notify the masses and foreign press agencies of the atrocities, the Iranian Bandwidth were witnessing interruptions.[12] According to NetBlocks, the Iranian bandwidth around 9 p.m. (local time) on the night of July 14, 2020, was either terminated in many areas or was witnessing high tribulations and limited speed on many others, possibly due to orders given to Iranian internet service providers.[13]

It is also important to note that the Iranian government have been known to shut down the internet fully when there's a thread of an uprising, as done in 2019. So it is reasonable to be aware and concerned that there might be another shut down on the way.[14]

• 2019–2020 Iranian protests
• 2019 Internet blackout in Iran