Terror lurks within the confines of Iran's mullahs' execution chambers.
Mehdi Hassani, a death row inmate, languishes in the grim confines of Ghezel Hesar Prison. His crime? Speaking out against the Iranian regime. His daughter, Maryam, now residing in Germany, recounts the horrors her father endured before vanishing.
On September 6, 2022, Maryam last saw her father, Mehdi. Initially, he appeared to vanish without a trace. However, a letter from the Iranian security authorities arrived, revealing Mehdi's arrest and imprisonment in Evin Prison, Tehran. Mehdi had been vocal against the Iranian regime for as long as Maryam could remember. Now, he finds himself in another prison—one of the Iranian mullahs' death cells in Ghezel Hesar, Alborz Province. This prison notoriously serves as a precursor to executions.
The brutal treatment meted out to the regime's critics is underscored in a UN report presented this week. According to the report, at least 975 people were executed in Iran last year, making it the highest number of executions since 2015. Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy Human Rights Commissioner, stated: "Many prisoners are subjected to torture before being hanged."
"My father suffered severe injuries to his neck, back, and feet in prison. Despite his dire medical needs, he is denied treatment," shares Hassani, daughter of the accused. Among the inhumane practices in the prison were food and sleep deprivation. Officially, Mehdi was convicted for "armed rebellion against the state", "enmity against God", and "corruption on earth." As per Iran's Sharia law, the nation's legislation is based on divine order in the eyes of Islam.
"Psychological pressure was applied to my father to coerce false confessions. They threatened him in prison numerous times that they'd harm his family, threatening even to rape my eight-year-old brother," claims Hassani.
Political Landscape
Regime Change Isn't an Option for Iran, Claims Former Merkel Advisor Heusgen
Maryam Hassani's harrowing account cannot be independently verified, given the limited access to death rows like Ghezel Hesar Prison and the family's prohibited prison visits. Yet, Maryam, her siblings, and her mother remain politically active in Germany, protesting against the Iranian regime.
"Currently, many more individuals are at risk of imminent execution in Iran. A total of 55 political prisoners face the death penalty," asserts Hassani. Protesting against the Iranian government, she will join a demonstration this Saturday, urging the federal government to link negotiations with the regime to the release of political prisoners.
Israel Threatens to Eliminate: Ayatollah Khamenei's "All or Nothing" Stance
According to several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Mehdi Hassani was "sentenced to death in a grossly unfair trial in September 2024." The trial lasted only five minutes, and false confessions were allegedly coerced through torture and other abuses.
A comprehensive report by Amnesty International sheds light on escalating death sentences and executions in the past year. Alarmingly, more than half of the registered executions were for charges that, under international law, should never warrant capital punishment (such as drug offenses and poorly defined and vague accusations like "enmity against God" and "corruption on earth").
Iran remains notorious for continuing its flawed tactics of arresting, torturing, and executing individuals tied to the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement. The movement, initiated by widespread demonstrations in September 2022, saw thousands of Iranians protesting against the repressive measures of their regime. Sparked by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, who died under suspicious circumstances following her arrest by the Morality Police for allegedly improper headscarf attire, this slogan continues to symbolize the struggle for women's rights and an end to oppression
Political Allegiance
Hassani believes her father advocated for women's rights, but for the sake of his safety, she refuses to divulge his exact political activities. One accusation levied against him, however, is that he was a member of the opposition movement of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Founded in 1965 in Iran, the PMOI aimed to overthrow the Shah's regime. However, following its significant role in the Revolution of 1979, it lost the power struggle and eventually moved to Paris. Engaging in a strategic alliance with Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the PMOI/MEK was removed from the EU terror list in 2009 and the US list in 2012, albeit under the argument that the organization had abandoned its militancy and began supporting democratic principles.
Expert Stephan Stetter, professor of International Politics and Conflict Research at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, remarks, "Although the Iranian People's Mujahedin tied to terrorist activities historically and lack democratic roots, authoritarian ideologies and methods can be selectively disregarded for realpolitik reasons." However, the organization is accused of retaining its militancy, a claim it vehemently denies, emphasizing its commitment to democratic values.
A World Torn between Fear and Revolution
"My father wished for freedom in Iran, freedom for women, and freedom for society," states Maryam Hassani emphatically. While earning a living as a cab driver, the Hassanis led a relatively normal life in Iran. All that changed with Mehdi's arrest.
Source: ntv.de
- Iran
- Iran Conflict
- Human Rights
- Amnesty International
- United Nations
- Executions
- Torture
Enrichment Data:
- Reports of torture, executions, and prison brutality persist in Iran, particularly in facilities like Ghezel Hesar Prison, providing ample evidence of ongoing human rights abuses.
- Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and the United Nations, have consistently condemned Iran's disregard for human rights and violent methods of repression, including unfair trials, torture, and arbitrary detentions.
- There is a growing concern around the arbitrary execution of individuals accused of espionage, with a focus on those assumed to have ties with Israel.
- The Iranian government's harsh measures have resulted in an extraordinary increase in executions, with many political prisoners, ethnic minorities, and women falling victim to these atrocities.
- Despite international pressure to cease such practices, Iran has not made sufficient efforts to rectify its human rights violations, maintaining a grim reality within its detention centers and death cells.
Despite the Iranian government's denial, several human rights organizations have accused the regime of coercing false confessions through torture and abuses, as exemplified in the trial and sentencing of Mehdi Hassani. This case represents the ongoing human rights violations in Iran, particularly in prisons such as Ghezel Hesar.
In the political arena, the dilemma of human rights abuses in Iran has been a recurring theme, sparking protests among political dissidents like Maryam Hassani. These protests demand the federal government to link negotiations with the Iranian regime to the release of political prisoners, a critical step in addressing the ongoing crisis of jailhouse injustices and executions.
