Iran imposes first death penalty after protests – ex-president calls for “self-reform of the system”
Created: 2022-11-17 05:42
By: Markus Hofstetter, Bettina Menzel
The protests in Iran continue.
A court in Tehran has sentenced a protester to death for the first time.
All information in the news ticker.
Suppression of
demonstrators
in
Iran
: EU wants to tighten sanctions against Tehran
Death penalty
in
Iran
: Tehran imposes first sentence after protests
Protests
in
Iran
: Tehran reacted with drastic words to statements by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The
news ticker
for the
protests in Iran
is constantly updated.
Update from November 14, 8:22 p.m
.: The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador to Tehran on Monday.
Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani explained that it was about the connection between German citizens and the protests in Iran that had been going on for weeks.
Ambassador Hans-Udo Muzel was shown "information, evidence and explanations" and a diplomatic response was requested.
Update from November 14, 2:44 p.m
.: Ex-President Mohammed Chatami rejects a political system change in Iran, but advocates reforms according to his own statements.
"A coup is neither possible nor desirable," Khatami said, according to the Insa news agency.
"The continuation of the current situation will increase the causes of social collapse, the most cost-effective and useful solution is the self-reform of the system," the politician continued.
Ex-President Khatami is assigned to the reform camp.
Still, many people involved in the protests in Iran reject his positions.
Most of them think it's impossible.
Khatami continued: “The new generation - which has its own world - is our great asset for today and tomorrow.
If we don't want to or can't meet their demands, we should at least understand their mentality, their hope and their protest."
Mohammad Khatami (Image taken in 2009) © UPI Photo/Imago
Suppression of demonstrators in Iran: EU wants to tighten sanctions against Tehran
Update from November 14, 12:14 p.m .:
The foreign ministers of the European Union are tightening sanctions against Iran.
According to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the new punitive measures are aimed at "those responsible for the suppression of the demonstrators" in the country, as he now said in Brussels.
According to the Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, more than 30 responsible persons and organizations are to be banned from entry and property.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) said in Brussels that the new punitive measures would particularly affect "the inner circle of power of the Revolutionary Guards" and those who finance Iran's army.
"We hold those responsible for these human rights crimes accountable," she said.
Those responsible believed they could "oppress, intimidate and kill their own people without consequences".
We are also working on other measures.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock does not want to let those responsible for human rights violations in Iran get away.
© Thomas Koehler/imago
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At the request of Germany and Iceland, the UN Human Rights Council will also deal with the situation in Iran in a special session on November 24.
The 47 member countries of the Council cannot impose sanctions.
However, they can adopt a resolution condemning the violence and set in motion a mechanism to investigate the situation more closely.
Protests in Iran: Revolutionary Guards attack targets in northern Iraq
Update from November 14, 9:54 a.m .:
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have again attacked targets in neighboring northern Iraq.
The Tasnim news agency reported on Monday that bases of Kurdish separatist groups had been attacked with rockets and drones.
Iran had repeatedly bombed positions in northern Iraq in recent weeks.
Tehran accuses the Kurdish groups in northern Iraq of supporting the nationwide protests.
In the Kurdish provinces of Iran, the security apparatus is cracking down on demonstrators.
The Revolutionary Guards have great military potential.
These include short-range Qiam missiles.
(Archive photo) © Sobhan Farajvan/imago
Unrest in Iran: Tehran court issues first death sentence
Update from November 14, 7:07 a.m .:
In Iran, a death sentence has been imposed for the first time in connection with ongoing protests against the country's leadership.
A court in the capital Tehran has pronounced the death penalty, the judicial authority said on its website
Misan Online
on Sunday.
The convicted person was found guilty, among other things, of setting fire to a government building, "disturbing public order" and threatening "national security".
She is also accused of "corruption on earth" and being an "enemy of God" - one of the most serious criminal offenses under Iranian law.
Nothing was known about the identity or the age of the convict(s).
This excerpt from a video shows Iranian police officers breaking up a demonstration.
(Photo from October 26, 2022) © Uncredited/dpa/picture alliance
According to
Misan Online
, another Tehran court also sentenced five defendants to prison terms of between five and ten years for “conspiring to commit crimes against national security and disturbing public order”.
Those affected can still appeal.
Protests in Iran: Tehran criticizes Scholz's statements about violent action against demonstrators
Update from November 13, 9:03 a.m .:
Tehran has sharply criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for his statements on violent action against demonstrators in Iran.
"The German Chancellor's remarks were provocative, meddling and undiplomatic," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Sunday.
Sabotage an historical relationship could do "long-term damage," in Canaani's words, so Berlin should act more responsibly and respectfully toward Iran.
"We recommend that the federal government return to prudence in order to avoid further confusion in bilateral relations," the spokesman said, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry website.
Olaf Scholz has been sharply criticized by the Iranian regime.
© IMAGO/Jean MW
Scholz had sharply criticized the Iranian leadership in view of the serious human rights violations in the country.
"What kind of government are you that shoots at its own citizens?
Anyone who acts like this must count on our resistance,” he said in his video podcast published on Saturday.
Protests commemorating "Bloody Friday" in Sahedan in at least six cities
First report:
Tehran – The protests in Iran continue, some of them are already talking about a revolution.
Meanwhile, a petition to investigate crimes committed by security forces in Iran had over a million signatures worldwide.
The European Union also imposed new sanctions that are to be decided on Monday - Iran responded with threats.
The Kurdish woman Mahsa Jina Amini died in police custody on September 16 after being arrested by the vice squad for allegedly wearing a headscarf that was not correctly fitted.
This had triggered nationwide protests, which are still going on about two months later.
According to the latest analysis by US experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), general protest participation in Iran has declined in recent days, but on Friday it rose again in Sistan and Balochistan province.
According to ISW experts, at least 14 protests took place in twelve cities in six provinces this Friday in memory of the “Bloody Friday” of September 30th.
A million people sign a petition against crimes committed by Iranian security forces
According to the human rights organization HRANA
, at least 330 people have died
since the protests began as a result of the violent actions of the security forces.
Amnesty International said at least 100 people had died in Sistan and Balochistan in the past two weeks alone.
In addition to the many deaths, there were more than 14,000 arrests and numerous death sentences imposed on those in prison.
But people continue to bravely take to the streets - in some cases the protest is taking on new forms.
A petition by the human rights organization Amnesty International against the arbitrariness and brutality of the Iranian security forces found a million signatures from over 200 countries - around a quarter of the signatures are said to have come from Iran itself.
The petition called for the establishment of an independent UN mechanism to investigate crimes committed by security forces in Iran under international law.
Protests in Iran lead to renewed sanctions - and threats from the Islamic Republic
The protests in Iran also have consequences for the country in terms of foreign policy.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has sharply criticized the Iranian leadership for human rights violations there and defended the planned new sanctions.
"What kind of government are you that shoots at its own citizens?
Anyone who acts like this must expect our resistance, ”said Scholz on Saturday.
The EU foreign ministers want to impose the third package of sanctions against Tehran in Brussels on Monday.
Iran announced an "appropriate and decisive" response in the event of new sanctions.
Meanwhile, US defense officials warned of a possible Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia or Iraq in retaliation for the alleged role of the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia in fueling the protests, according to ISW experts.
Corresponding reports had previously appeared in the political magazine
Politico
and in the US daily
Wall Street Journal
.