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During the November protests in 2019, thousands of Iranians protested against the oppressive regime in the country. Now three young men are to be executed. Amnesty International has already launched a new petition), which can also be supported!

The November 2019 protests were caused by the increase of the gasoline price, the desolate economic situation and the massive oppression of the Iranian people by the corrupt Iranian government that has been going on for 40 years. Thousands of demonstrators were arrested, dozens injured and hundreds shot during the demonstration. Among the dead were children and young people.

It has recently become known that among the group of detainees of the November protests in 2019, an Islamic Revolutionary Court in Iran has decided to execute three young men, Amir Hossein, Said and Mohammad. All three belong to the organisers of the November movement. Beforehand, these young men were forced, under severe torture, to confess their guilt of alleged criminal acts :

• Amir Hossein Moradi, 25, lived in Germany for three years before returning to Iran to live with his mother and sister. He graduated from high school in computer science and worked as a seller of mobile phones, computers and software in Tehran.
• Said Tamjidi is 27 years old and a student of electrical engineering.
• Mohammad Rajabi is 25 years old and has high school diploma.

The destiny of these three young men could be my destiny: I am an exiled Iranian woman and had to flee Iran with my parents over 30 years ago due to the political situation and persecution by the government.

On November 16, 2019 Amir Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi took part in protests in Sattar Khan Street in Tehran and were later arrested.

Their death sentence, is based on "enmity to God" (Moharebeh). The judiciary accuses them, amongst other things, of being riot leaders who set fire to petrol stations and banks during the November protests, filmed them and sent them to foreign media. They had acted against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The trial against the three young men was grossly unfair.

"Most of the accusations were wrong and they had been under torture to force them to make a forced confession". They added that they "were fed up with the injustice in the country and took to the streets to protest against it". All of them had forcibly disappeared for weeks after their arrest and had no access to their lawyer during the investigation phase. The "confession" of Amir Hossein Moradi, which was broadcasted in a propaganda video on state television days before his trial, was used as evidence to sentence them. The three men are currently imprisoned in Fashafouyeh prison in Tehran province.

*** Update 3 March 2020: According to reports, Amir Hossein, Said and Mohammad, along with 17 other protesters of the November protests, were transferred to Ward 1, suite 11 of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary in the immediate neighborhood of dangerous criminals! They are all suspected to be infected with coronavirus, after Amir Hossein is said to have been tested positive! Ward 1 is dangerous: In the same suite, Alireza Shir Mohammadi, a 21-year-old political prisoner, was stabbed to death in 2019 by two prisoners convicted of drug offences. Access to medical care and hygiene articles is also not available for them.

The families of these men have been in shock since the verdict was handed down, but must remain silent.

We, the undersigned, urge the representatives of the German government and UN human rights to put pressure on the Iranian government and to prevent these executions! It has been shown that public pressure can prevent executions.

Please help the people in Iran!

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

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Further background of the process:

Amir Hossein Moradi, was identified by the security service on November 19, 2019, arrested (by video monitoring) and held for weeks in a Tehran Secret Service detention camp before being transferred to Tehran's Evin prison for a month. He was held in prolonged solitary confinement and was interrogated without a lawyer. He has said that he was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings, electric shock treatment and 13 interrogations in which a security guard stood on Mr Moradi's chest, resulting in injuries to his ribs. He said he "confessed" only after his interrogators promised to provide him with medical treatment for the injuries he suffered, but later refused to do so. The reason given for his sentencing to execution was the instruction of demonstrators, the leading of the protests and the armed confrontation with security guards. He was accused of having ordered the protesters by telegram to take away the security officers' camera while they were filming the protesters in order to protect the protesters' identity.

Mohammad Rajabi, 25, and Saeed Tamjidi, 27, applied for asylum in a neighbouring country on 20 November 2019, but were deported back to Iran on 28 December 2019 at Iran's request. They have been arrested and transferred to Evin prison, and have also said that they have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment to force them to make a forced confession.

 

The other thousand prisoners and corona virus:

Relatives have not been informed of the whereabouts of the thousands of November 2019 protesters. Some authorities have even admitted towards desperate relatives that the fate of these detainees is entirely open and that their fate until execution can be decided arbitrarily (without any legal support). Their fate is therefore completely uncertain and their lives are threatened. The Iranian government is intentionally withholding the names of the dead and detainees. Since the arrests in November 2019, more and more bodies have been found all over the country - in lakes, sewers, etc.

Corona virus has also spread throughout Iran and thus also in the prisons. The prisoners are being held there crowded together under extremely poor hygienic conditions, so that the acute danger of infection is very high! 70,000 prisoners were therefore sent home temporarily, but this does not include the thousands of political prisoners (including the protesters). The lack of medical care additionally threatens the lives of these political prisoners and it is to be feared that the regime is declaring the violent "death" of the political prisoners with a coronavirus infection and is consciously exposing them to this danger !

In this context, the announcement of the names of the numerous other imprisioned protesters would be highly relevant as well. The situation is serious, as they could also face the threat of torture, arbitrary trials and, at worst, executions -especially if they stay anonymous! At the end of the 1980s, Amnesty International was already able to apply pressure on the Iranian government by announcing the names of political prisoners and prevented countless executions!

We urge the representatives of the German Federal Government, the European Commission and UN human rights to work towards obliging the Iranian Government to disclose the names of the imprisoned protesters! They cannot remain anonymous.

The people of Iran have no voice.

Yours respectfully,

The Undersigned