NCRI – In an attempt to reign in discontent of the people and the wave of public protests in various cities in Iran, the clerical regime executed 20 prisoners including some in groups, on Tuesday, February 18, in a number of cities across the country.
A group of eight prisoners were hanged in Ghezel-Hessar prison in Karaj (central Iran), five were hanged in Bandar-abbas (southern Iran), and three were hanged in Qazvin (north western Iran).
On Monday, February 17, four prisoners were hanged in Nowshahr and Zanjan in northern Iran. The prosecutor general in the city of Nowshahr said the executions are being carried out to ”set a hard lesson and intimidate others.”
On February 15, two young men ages of 23 and 37 were hanged in public in the Golshahr district of Karaj.
On February 13, a woman, Fataemeh Abbaspour, 45, was hanged in city of Rodbar after serving nine years in prison. On the same day two prisoners were hanged in public in Kuzehgari district of Shiraz (southern Iran). Two other prisoner also were hanged in Vakilabad prison in Mashhad (north east Iran).
Fearing the spread of public uprising, the Iranian regime has executed at least 31 prisoner since the beginning of public protests by Bakhatiaris last week, thus raising the total number of execution in year 2014 to at least 131.
The Iranian Resistance calls on the UN Security Council, the United States, the European Union, and human rights defenders to take urgent action regarding arbitrary and collective executions that are continuing with a rapid pace this year in Iran. Continuation and expansion of economic and diplomatic relations with this regime and ignoring its crimes, under any pretext, only encourages the continuation and intensification of group executions and thus must be stopped.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 18, 2014