Iran. Three Additional Death Sentences Despite International Condemnation

The Iranian judiciary has handed down three new death sentences for demonstrators accused by the authorities of killing members of the security forces. Iran’s judiciary accuses Saleh Mir Hashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeed Yaqubi of harabah, the Mizan Online judiciary reports. This comes after widespread international condemnation campaigns following the execution of two young men, Muhammad Mahdi Karmi and Sayyid Muhammad Hosseini, who were convicted of killing Basij member Ruhollah Ajamian in Karaj, west of Tehran, the third of November last year. And Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark have said they will summon Iranian ambassadors to their territories to protest these executions of demonstrators, and the European Union is preparing to impose a new package of sanctions against Tehran. The new rulings, which are still preliminary and subject to appeal, bring the total number of maximum sentences handed down in protest-related cases to 17, four of which have been enforced and the Supreme Court has ratified two other rulings. The judiciary has sentenced Saleh Mir Hashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeed Yaqubi to death, accusing them of “harabah,” according to the website of Iran’s judicial body Mizan Online, saying she was “devastated” by the executions. “The European Union is considering new sanctions,” she added, without going into details. In addition, yesterday the German police raided two garages in connection with an anti-terrorist operation earlier this week that resulted in the arrest of two people. According to the dpa, on a tip from US security officials, German police arrested two Iranian brothers, and prosecutors said they were suspected of planning a bioweapon attack. It is not yet clear how far they have gone in their plans.