The newest developments in Iran – Izzy S
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article on the brutal murder of Mahsa Amini and the humanitarian crisis Iran; btw thanks for the shoutout in chapel Mr Routledge. However, this update does not bring good news, there have not been any improvements from the protests that looked so promising from the time the last article was written.
Currently, over 15,000 prisoners have been imprisoned not executed (a mistake Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and many celebrities made) but there are an estimated 2000 that have been officially charged which could potentially face the death penalty. The official figures are unknown due to the country’s strict censorship however we do know that since protests have begun 326 protesters have been killed including 43 children.
The protests aren’t looking like they will stop anytime soon to the Iranian government’s disappointment. The protests have moved out of the Tehran to the other parts of Iran including 140 towns and cities. In a bid to control these protests, the government have named them to be riots this is as ‘rioters’ can be charged with waging war against God, corruption on Earth and armed rebellion all valid reasons in the Sharia based legal system for the death penalty. Unfortunately, this isn’t unsurprising as Iran has the second highest execution rate in the world with Amnesty reporting 314 executions per year.
There is a little good news though concerning external support for the citizens of Iran, the EU, UK and the US have implemented a series of sanctions to combat the government in this serious breach of human rights on many Iranian officials such as travel bans and asset freezes; however, is this enough? For nations so adamant on protecting basic rights could more be done? Nothing has been done regarding breaking off talks on the 2015 nuclear deal or imposing harsher sanctions. The nations that have implemented basic sanctions have been put in a difficult position due to the number of political prisoners meaning many of these countries are sympathetic however are reluctant to press any further in the fear for their political prisoners. This poses one of the biggest diplomatic problems of our time.
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