Britain late last week summoned Iran's Chargé d'Affaires in Britain (Iran's most senior diplomat here) to protest the execution of Mohsen Shekari, the first such execution over recent anti-government unrest.
Mahsa Amini’s death on September 17th, following her arrest by the Morality Police for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code, has sparked protests across Iran and shocked the world.
Vijay Rangarajan, Director General for the Middle East at the Foreign Office, held the meeting with the Chargé d'Affaires, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, to underline that the execution is a grossly disproportionate action, which is designed to intimidate ordinary Iranians and stifle voices of dissent. The Foreign Office said that Mr Rangarajan stressed that the UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and urged Iran to immediately halt executions and the imposition of death sentences.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly commented:
"The execution of Mohsen Shekari by the Iranian regime is abhorrent. He is a tragic victim of a legal system in which disproportionate sentences, politically motivated trials and forced confessions are rife."
"We have made our views clear to the Iranian authorities – Iran must immediately halt executions and end the violence against its own people."
Since the meeting at the Foreign Office, Iran this morning publicly executed a second prisoner, Majidreza Rahnavard, detained amid nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy. Activists warn that at least a dozen people already have been sentenced to death in closed-door hearings. At least 488 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in mid-September, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the protests. Another 18,200 people have been detained by authorities.
The UN’s top human rights official Volker Türk has said that Iran’s execution of prisoners convicted for crimes allegedly committed during the country’s ongoing nationwide protests is “very troubling” and an attempt by Tehran to send a "chilling" message and stifle further anti-government demonstrations.