Arbitrary Killings Continue in Iran, As Regime Rules Execution Can Proceed

The Iranian regime continues to clamp down on any economic efforts being made by the Iranian people to address their economic plight. The border porters, who bring goods into Iran, have been targeted by the regime and its security forces, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

On Tuesday, May 29, the Iranian armed forces fired into a group of border porters along the Sheno and Sidakan boundaries. Those armed forces ended up killing one border porter and severe injury to another. Ribar Moradi, a married father, was identified as the porter who was killed during the conflict.

In the past 10 days, eleven different border porters have been killed. On Thursday morning, May 31, for example, Kamal Mohmmadi lost his life after a direct shooting by the armed forces at the Baneh border. He died before he could be transferred to any medical facilities.

The larger issue seems to be the corruption that is rampant throughout the Iranian economy. Many of the industries are controlled by members of the regime or the IRGC, and money rarely makes it to the Iranian people, despite the fact that it should. Funds released by the JCPOA agreement were just funneled into military operations for the Iranian regime, instead of being reinvested in the Iranian infrastructure.

Human rights violations continue to abound through the regime and its courts clearly participate in the agenda of oppression. Recently, the Chief Justice of Tehran, Gholam Hossein Ismaili, said, “There is no legal prohibition to impose any sentences in Ramadan, but sometimes some matters will be considered of concerns.”

With the justice system rigged against the Iranian people, it is no wonder that harsh and inhumane conditions persist in the prisons. The state run media is denying that one prisoner was killed by means of an electric shocker. Instead, they claim he died of a severe heart attack. Another prisoner was sentenced to seven years in prison and 75 lashes with a cable for participating in the clashes between security forces and protesters in Golestan.

Prisoners are often denied medical care as part of their punishment, particularly if they were arrested for speaking out against the Iranian regime. Time and again, it is clear that the regime will stop at nothing, even illegal detentions, to maintain their power over the Iranian people.

The Iranian resistance, however, continues to support the protests of the Iranian people and to call international attention to their plight. On June 30, the Iranian resistance and their allies, along with Iranians who remain abroad to avoid the destructive measures of the regime, will gather in Paris to present the international community with another option to the Iranian regime, one that could bring democratic change for the Iranian people.