Jailed Iranian Activist Denounces Secret Execution Of Protester

Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi has condemned the clandestine execution of Milad Zohrevand, the eighth protester killed following the Women, Life, Freedom uprising.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mohammadi, currently serving time in Evin prison, said, "These executions are a source of shame for the oppressive and repressive government and will make protests more intense over time."

Zohrevand was executed on Thursday in the Malayer prison located in the western province of Hamedan, arrested at the peak of the protests last October. The Hengaw Human Rights Organization revealed that Zohrevand was secretly executed, and his family was denied the opportunity to bid him a final farewell. Zohrevand himself was not notified of his impending execution.

In her Instagram post, Mohammadi wrote of the rising numbers of executions taking place in Iran. "The eighth protester of the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, Milad Zohrehvand, was executed, and the next day a 17-year-old child was hanged elsewhere. Some time ago, another political prisoner named Qasem Abtahi was executed in Qezelhesar prison," she wrote, referring to a prisoner who was charged while a minor. 

"The execution machine has accelerated across the country, conveying the message of the oppressive Islamic Republic to society: the continuation of massacre and execution. I do not consider it anything other than the "war" of the government with all its tools of suppression and death against the oppressed, protesting, and defenseless people of Iran," she added.

According to the United Nations, Iran has killed at least 419 people in the first seven months of the year, a 30% increase from the same period in 2022. The report claimed 239 people — more than half of those executed in the seven-month period — were reportedly put to death for drug-related offenses, a 98% increase from the same period last year.

The 21-year-old, who became a father while in prison, was reportedly not granted the chance to see his newborn child before his execution. In June, he was sentenced to death for the alleged "murder" of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officer named Ali Nazari during the nationwide uprising sparked by the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini. Over 500 protesters were killed by security forces and thousands more arrested.