On Saturday morning, two young men were hanged in Iran for taking part in the country’s large-scale protests. In response to the executions, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra summoned the Iranian ambassador again. Dozens of demonstrators went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague to protest the executions.
Hoekstra tweets that all EU member states must do the same. The Dutch government also summoned the Iranian ambassador last month after protesters were executed. Hoekstra underlines that new sanctions are being prepared against the Iranian regime in a European context. “Today’s actions require an even stronger response from the EU,” the minister said.
On Friday, a number of parliamentary parties from both the coalition and opposition called on the Dutch government to lead the way in Europe in taking measures against the Iranian regime. Hoekstra agrees with these party leaders, he said in a written response. As far as he is concerned, Holland, along with other countries, “will in fact continue to put pressure on Iran”.
In response to the executions, several dozen protesters went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague on Saturday. They shouted slogans such as: “Stop the executions in Iran” and “Khamenei killer”.
Thousands arrested and hundreds killed in Iran
Mass demonstrations have been taking place in Iran since mid-September for more freedom and against the regime in Tehran. Thousands of people have been arrested during these protests, which the authorities consider riots.
According to the human rights organization HRANA, more than 500 protesters died during the protests, including 70 minors. 68 members of the security services were also allegedly killed.
Amnesty International reported last month that at least 26 people were sentenced to death in Iran for participating in protests. The human rights organization calls those sentences the result of “show trials designed to intimidate protesters”.
The wave of protests is the largest in years for Iran and began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. The Kurdish-born woman died after being arrested by the morality police for not wearing the hijab properly.
Confessions obtained after coercion and torture
The 20-year-old trainer and 22-year-old karate champion who was hanged on Saturday morning were, according to Iranian authorities, involved in the murder of a soldier during a demonstration in the country.
According to Amnesty International, an Iranian court has sentenced 22-year-old karate champion Mohammad Mehdi Karami after he was forced to make a confession.
On December 18, 20-year-old Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini’s lawyer tweeted that Hosseini had been severely tortured. He was allegedly tied up, beaten and electrocuted, among other things. Iranian authorities deny it.
