Ahwazi: Iran Begins Mass Execution, Defying World Opinion
Below is an article published by the British Ahwazi Friendship Society:
The Khuzestan branch of the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) has reported that three Ahwazi Arabs have been executed for "waging war on God". ISNA did not name the men and it is believed that the executions were carried out in prison. A further 11 Ahwazis are awaiting execution following trials that were condemned by the European Parliament in a unanimous resolution in November as well as 48 British MPs who signed an Early Day Motion.
The regime broadcast videos of forced confessions of 11 Ahwazi Arabs on Khuzestan TV in early November, but delayed the executions due to international outrage and municipal elections. Today's execution of the three men comes just two days after the results of the
The men were convicted following one-day trials in closed sessions of the
Ali Matourizadeh, a founding member of the Lejnat Al-Wefaq (Reconciliation Committee), an Arab group that won control of Ahwaz City Council in the 2003 municipal elections but has subsequently been banned, was among those sentenced to hang. His wife was taken into custody when eight months pregnant and gave birth to a girl called Salma while in prison in March. She was instructed by the regime to denounce and divorce her husband and change the baby's name to a Persian name, but she refused the regime's demands. Both mother and daughter remain in prison.