Inside the Islamic Republic’s Penal System

While many in the US were asleep, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,  their police force, and their volunteer section, the Basij, have entered the homes of thousands of protesters, arresting them, and having them stand trial on trumped up charges. Their crimes include “waging war against God” and “crimes against the state.”

According to Alex Winston, News Editor of The Jerusalem Post, their punishment includes extraction under torture. Amnesty International warned in February that at least 30 people including children, were facing the death penalty. By now, thousands more have been arrested, and have been executed.

Although during their trial, these “defendants” tried to stand up for themselves, their defenses have been summarily dismissed. Most have been facing the death penalty through public hangings or secretive executions.

This is meant to send a chill of terror throughout the Iranian dissident population. Throughout the conflict with the Islamic Republic, the internet has been shut down. There is no communication with family members, and little or no communication with attorneys.

These stories have all been taken from Alex’s excellent story in The Jerusalem Post.

Diana Taherabadi is a 16-year-old from Karaj. She was arrested on January 25^th, when five officers entered her home, taking her away in handcuffs. The family’s cellphones were confiscated. She was taken to Kachoui Prison where she awaits the death penalty. The family has been warned to remain silent.

Shervin Bagherian Jebili is 18 years old from Isfahan.  He was told she was accused of “moharebeh”, of “crimes against God.”  Clearly frightened, intimidated and disoriented, at his trial, he asked, “Can you tell me what “moharebeh” is, please? The answer was a chilled “Execution”.  To which he broke down. This exchange was circulated by the Islamic Republic online to serve as a reminder of how they handle young detainees.

Shakila Ghasemi is a 26-year-old Bahai woman from Kerman, with a beautiful smile. In early February, 12 plainclothes agents entered and searched her home for firearms-which were not found- and confiscated her belongings. Two or three days later, she called her home, asking for a laptop charger. When her family arrived at the prison, they asked for her, and were told that no-one of that name existed, and the charger was refused.

Saleh Mohammadi was a 19-year-old star wrestler. He was arrested with “codefendants”, Saeed Davoudi, 21, and Mehdi  Ghasemi, (age unknown).  They were all sentenced in a Qom court for allegedly “killing a security agent”. They told the court that the confessions had been extracted under torture. Amnesty International cited a source that said his hands had been fractured from beatings. They were all hanged.

Another name that keeps creeping up is that of Javid Khalis, (also known as Javid Khales and Javid Khaled). He was a young conscript, allegedly sentenced to death for refusing to obey orders to shoot protesters. He is now facing the death penalty for refusing to fire upon civilians.

These are just a few of the defendants who are awaiting, or have already received, death sentences through torture, rape, extremely unfair trials  and forced confessions, and often secret and arbitrary executions.

As Alex Winston wrote, “Throughout the month-long war between Israel, the US, and Iran, much attention has been focused on military operations, personnel targeted, and the strain on the world’s economy as the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane has been affected. Largely absent from international focus is the fate of innocent Iranians still trapped inside the Islamic Republic – with both Israel and the US framing their actions, in part, as support for the Iranian people against the regime.’

This is just a small sample of what Alex Winston’s report covers. These young people, ripe with potential, have been executed for a right that we, in the West, all take for granted.  They are peeling away their finest, their brightest and their best.

For a comprehensive summary, please go to Iran’s stolen futures: The arrested Iranians at risk of execution by the regime | The Jerusalem Post.

Sarah N. Stern is Founder and President of EMET, a Middle Eastern think tank that educates members of Congress and the public-at-large.