Statement by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights: Condemnation and Deep Concern Regarding the Death Sentence of Toomaj Salehi

Hengaw: Thursday, April 25, 2024

The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights vehemently condemns the recent death sentence handed down to Toomaj Salehi. We denounce this verdict as a flagrant miscarriage of justice, issued under duress from security institutions and in flagrant disregard of even the most basic legal principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Expressing profound concern over the issuance of this sentence on trumped-up allegations of "corruption on earth," Hengaw asserts that such verdicts have become characteristic of the Islamic Republic of Iran's pattern of mass executions, particularly in the past year following the Woman, Life, Freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadi) movement.

In 2023 alone, the Islamic Republic of Iran executed a minimum of 829 individuals on unsubstantiated charges, indicative of a politically motivated campaign aimed at instilling fear within society. The recent verdict against Toomaj Salehi by the Isfahan Revolutionary Court underscores the government's disregard for its own legal framework, instead relying on a policy of coercion and terror.

As previously cautioned in numerous statements, Hengaw asserts that the escalation of forced disappearances and continual rapid killings invariably accompanies an increase in executions of lesser-known individuals, which leads to the imposition of death sentences on prominent prisoners. 

According to Hengaw's data, 41 political and ideological detainees in Iranian prisons currently face the threat of execution. Therefore, Hengaw urges the international community and the people of Iran to swiftly and decisively oppose the surge in death sentences within the country, amplifying the voices of those silenced and condemning Iran's execution policies.