The appalling rate of hangings in Iran

Rome. The Islamic Republic of Iran announced yesterday that it had carried out the death sentences of Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat, accused of spying for Israel (they are alleged to have provided the coordinates of the regime’s military and security sites). The date of their arrest had not been disclosed; there was no trial; there were only their ‘confessions’. On Sunday, the body of Arvin Kheirkhah, aged twenty, who had been arrested during the winter protests, was handed over to his family: there was no trial, no announcement of the date of his hanging; he was secretly executed in Shahroud. Last week, Alireza Sephai was due to be hanged, but he suffered a heart attack: he was taken to hospital and stabilised in order to keep him alive and carry out the death sentence (he is still alive).

According to all reports, from the UN to Amnesty and NGOs, there has been an increase in hangings, some of which take place in public, others not: dozens of young people have been hanged for taking part in protests against the regime. Alongside Arvin’s body was a note he had written to his parents: “Do not let me be forgotten. Do not let the path we walked on fall silent.”