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Human Rights Commissioner Kofler on death penalty for three protesters in Iran
Commenting on current reports about the death sentences imposed on three participants in the protests in Iran in November 2019, Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, today (27 February) issued the following statement:
I am appalled at reports that Amir Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi have been sentenced to death for participating in the protests in Iran in November 2019.
There are doubts that they received a fair trial in accordance with rule-of-law principles. Irrespective of this, the death penalty is a cruel form of punishment that the German Government rejects in all circumstances.
Amir Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi took part in the protests sparked by the increase in petrol prices in Iran in November 2019. During the protests, at least 300 people across the country died. Thousands were arrested and many of them are still in prison, including minors.
I call for the human rights violations committed during the November 2019 demonstrations to be examined. The people of Iran must have the possibility of expressing their views peacefully, freely and without obstruction. The imprisoned demonstrators must be granted the right to humane detention conditions and to a fair trial governed by the rule of law – without the death penalty!
Background information:
On 25/26 January 2020, Amir Hossein Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi were found guilty of “involvement in vandalism and arson” and sentenced to death. They are further accused of “cooperation in aggravated armed robbery” and of “crossing the border illegally”. According to reports from human rights organisations, all three made forced confessions under torture.