Don't let these youth be executed! Worker-communist Party of Iran - 22.01.2003 22:41
Davood, 19, has been sentenced to death by Shahr-Ray Islamic court for drinking alcohol. WPI Briefing Number 92, Weekly of the Worker-communist Party of Iran In the past two weeks, the Islamic Republic of Iran has publicly hanged at least seven people; six have been sent before a firing squad in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. According to other reports, there have been even more executions. Additionally, there have been numerous counts of amputations. There are currently many young people under threat of execution. The ages of some of these youth are such that their 'crimes' (if one could call them crimes) must have been committed when they were children. * Davood, 19, has been sentenced to death by Shahr-Ray Islamic court for drinking alcohol. According to the 'Iran' daily paper, this youth has been imprisoned twice before for drinking and has been sentenced to death for the repetition of this 'crime'. Such heavy sentencing has been unprecedented even in the Islamic Republic of Iran. * Hossein, another youth who has been in prison for six years has been accused of murdering his friend, Ali, 11 years ago during a football match. According to the 'Bahar' daily paper, he has always maintained his innocence. The courts have produced no evidence to back the accusation. Because of lack of evidence, the judge has asked 50 members of the victim's family to sign a statement saying Hossein killed Ali. The sentence has been passed based on their evidence and is due to be carried out shortly. * A young woman and her 16-year-old son have been sentenced to execution together. The Islamic Supreme Court has confirmed the sentence, which is due to be carried out shortly. From its inception, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been a killing machine. More than anything else, the recent wave of executions aims to create and contribute to the atmosphere of fear and apprehension vis-à-vis the people who are protesting all over Iran and have shown that they are no longer prepared to live under Islamic rule and barbaric and inhumane conditions. By protesting and showing our outrage, we must remove such inhumane means at the disposal of the Islamic regime. The Worker-communist Party of Iran calls on all progressive people, trade unions, humanitarian organisations all over the world to protest against the executions and work to save the lives of these people. Protest against these crimes in any shape and form. Exert pressure on Western governments to break all diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Support the WPI campaign against executions in Iran. January, 14, 2003 WPI, Office of International Relations BM Box 8927, London WC1N 3XX, England Tel: +44 (0) 07719166731 Fax: +44 (0) 870 1351338 www.wpibriefing.com wpi.international.office@ukonline.co.uk E-Mail: wpipr@ukonline.co.uk Website: http://www.wpiran.org/english |