ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - France on Wednesday condemned Iran’s execution of a Kurdish prisoner who participated in the Jin Jiyan Azadi (Woman Life Freedom) protests.
“France condemns in the strongest terms the execution today of Gholamreza Rasaei, who was sentenced to death following his participation in the autumn 2022 protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran,” read a statement from the French foreign ministry on X.
“France reiterates its unwavering opposition to the death penalty, in all places and under all circumstances,” it added.
Reza (Goulamreza) Rasaei, was secretly executed in the early hours of Tuesday morning in a prison in Kermanshah, western Iran, according to Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. His family were told that they were not allowed to bury him in his hometown of Sahneh.
Resaei, who is a follower of the Yarsan faith, was arrested in November 2022. He was accused of killing the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Sahneh and was sentenced to death in October 2023.
Amnesty International on Wednesday also condemned the execution of Resaei.
“This execution lays bare once again how Iran’s criminal justice system is rotten to the core and highlights the Iranian authorities’ deadly resolve to use the death penalty as a tool of political repression to instil fear among the population,” said Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director Diana Eltahawy.
“It also dispels any illusions of human rights progress with a new president assuming power last week,” she added.
His conviction was based on a confession that was taken under torture, according to Amnesty.
Iran has been accused of using the death penalty to suppress minority groups, like Kurds and Baluchis, who were active in the Jin Jiyan Azadi protests. In November, the United Nations human rights office called on Tehran to halt use of the death penalty, especially for children.
Iran has the second-highest rate of known executions in the world. In 2023, it executed 853 people, up from 576 the year before, according to figures from Amnesty International.
In December, Hengaw reported that Iranian prisons executed 144 Kurds in 2023, a significant rise from 2022 when Iran executed 52 Kurds.
Updated at 10:10 pm
