Iran dissident group says six members sentenced to death

5/12/2024 5:58

        Six Iranian dissidents have
        been sentenced to death for charges ranging from belonging to an
        opposition group, collusion against the state and armed
        rebellion, according to a ruling seen by Reuters on Wednesday
        and a statement from the group.
        
        The sentences from Nov. 25 come amid a rise in what Human
        Rights Watch said in November was a "flurry of new death
        sentences" in recent weeks.
        
        The six men, part of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of
        Iran (PMOI/MEK), are aged between 32-65 and have a history of
        opposing Iranian authorities.
        
        Iranian officials were not immediately available for
        comment.
        
        "Desperately weakened and cornered Ali Khamenei futilely
        seeks to preserve his regime through a wave of executions,"
        Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the Paris-based National
        Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), whose largest component is
        the PMOI, said on X.
        
        The group, also known by its Persian name
        Mujahideen-e-Khalq, was once listed as a terrorist organisation
        by the United States and the European Union but not since 2012.
        
        Tehran has long called for a crackdown on the NCRI in Paris,
        Riyadh, and Washington. The group is regularly criticised in
        state media.
        
        "Iranian authorities use the death penalty as a tool of
        fear, particularly targeting ethnic minorities and political
        dissidents after unfair trials," said Nahid Naghshbandi, acting
        Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch.
        
        "This brutal tactic aims to suppress any opposition to an
        autocratic government through intimidation."