Iran executes Javid Dehghan despite calls from UN, organizations to end killing spree

Iran executes Javid Dehghan despite calls from UN, organizations to end killing spree
January 30, 2021, 10:46 am

iran

Iran on Saturday executed Javid Dehghan, an ethnic Baluchi man accused of belonging to a “terrorist” group, despite calls from the United Nations and international organizations for Tehran to end its killing spree, Iran International reported.

The 31-year-old was executed in the Zahedan Central Prison in the Sistan-Baluchestan province, according to the report.

Dhahghan was reportedly a leader of the Jaish al-Adl Sunni militant group, and was convicted for killing two members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2015. Jaish al-Adl says it seeks greater rights and better living conditions for ethnic minority Baluchis.

The UN human rights office had urged Iran to halt the hanging of Dehghan and several other prisoners from minority groups only a day earlier.

“#Iran: We strongly condemn the series of executions – at least 28 – since mid-December, including of people from minority groups. We urge the authorities to halt the imminent execution of Javid Dehghan, to review his and other death penalty cases in line with human rights law,” the UN human rights office said on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/UNHumanRights/status/1355121312453300225

Iran – which regularly receives criticism from international organization for its human rights violations against minorities and anti-regime activists – frequently dismisses the accusations as baseless.

Sistan-Baluchestan, Iran’s poorest province, is mostly populated by ethnic Sunni Baluchis. As a minority in the mostly-Shia country, the group complains of ethnic and religious discrimination and accuses the Iranian regime of deliberately neglecting the province due to the population’s Sunni faith.

In December 2020, Iran executed two ethnic Baluchi citizens on unclear charges in Zahedan, the Europe-based rights group Baluchi Activists Campaign said.

source: Tamara Abueish

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