The IRI’s “Execution Binge” On January 16, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) reported that the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has executed over 97 people in the past 30 days, among whom four were prisoners of conscience. The IRI is averaging one execution every eight hours since the start of 2011. Currently, the IRI executes more people per capita than any other country in the world, and is second only to China in number of executions overall. On January 24, 2011, the IRI executed two post-election protesters, Mr. Jafar Kazemi and Mr. Mohammad Ali Haj Aghaee on charges of “moharebeh” (enmity against God) – a charge that, under Iranian law, is dealt to those who take up arms against the state. No such evidence was presented in the cases of Mr. Kazemi and Mr. Aghaee, and in the end, the evidence used against them included sending footage of election protests abroad. As the ICHRI notes, “Moharebeh has become the Iranian Judiciary’s catch-all justification for killing political dissidents.” Only days ago did the IRI also execute Zahra Bahrami, an Iranian-Dutch post-election protester. And now with the IRI’s insistence that the executions in Iran are not the international community’s business, we must take a stand and assure the IRI that human rights have always been, and will always be, the business of the entire world.

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Messaging & Demands: Urge an End to Executions this 22 Bahman Last year, human rights groups gathered during 22 Bahman (February 12) to help build momentum around the anticipated protests inside Iran.This year, we encourage rights organizations and activists worldwide to use 22 Bahman as an opportunity to condemn the recent execution binge and urge the IRI to:

1. Institute an immediate moratorium on all executions;
2. Conduct independent reviews of pending death penalty cases; and
3. Abolish the death penalty all together.
4. In addition, we encourage the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to appoint a human rights monitor on Iran.

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Join In!

Host a Rally

Between February 11-13, 2011 consider organizing a demonstration or vigil to protest the recent executions in Iran, to encourage the UN Human Rights Council to appoint a human rights monitor to Iran, and to urge the IRI to halt executions. U4I would be more than happy to help promote your event. Simply e-mail the Facebook event page (recommended) or the event details to share@united4iran.org. Pre-made posters are available for download here. To learn how you can print large sized posters from your home printer using “tile-printed posters,” click here. If you host an event, please take plenty of pictures and video to be widely disseminated via press releases and social media platforms. Raw picture files, links to videos, or links to photo galleries can be sent to share@united4iran.org. Click here to read the suggested messaging and demands for the day.

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Print-and-Mail Postcards

Join activists worldwide to urging the IRI to halt its “execution binge,” by mailing postcards to officials worldwide urging a halt to executions in Iran. Consider printing and mailing postcards urging a halt to execution, and encouraging rally participants to mail them to UN officials, world leaders, and IRI authorities. We hope that each group or city will print and mail at least 100 postcards. Please let us know how many you have sent so we can gather the collective data and see our overall impact. The postcard can be downloaded and printed on your home computer, folded it in half, addressed, stamped, and mailed. To download a postcard, click the download link next to the postcard you want and save the PDF onto your computer. Also available are postcards  pre-addressed to various IRI officials and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. A blank (not addressed) postcard available for you and your organization to hand address and mail to your country’s IRI embassy or to your appropriate UN member representative. Click here to download postcards.

Donate & U4I will mail a postcard on your behalf

*U4I will mail a postcard on your behalf with a small donation. We recommend a $5 donation in order to offset the costs of printing and mailing. All the funds received for postcard donations will go directly to mailing as many postcards as possible. Under the “Program Designation” drop-box on the donation page simply choose “Postcard Donations” to ensure your donation goes to the postcard campaign. Click here to donate.

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What’s Next?

• Read up on the messaging and demands of the day.
• Download and print pre-made posters. Learn how to print posters in a large-size from your home computer here.
• E-mail us your event details to be shared on the U4I event calendar and event map locator.
• Print-and-mail postcards either individually or take them en masse to your event and encourage participants to sign and mail them. An easy way to cover the costs of postage and printing is to ask participants for a $1 donation when filling out a postcard.
• Take plenty of footage of your event and e-mail it to share@united4iran.org to be shared worldwide. Record your support and ensure that the Iranian people see it.

Together, we can ensure that the IRI hears our condemnations of the country’s execution binge. Together, we will show the Islamic Republic of Iran that its systematic human rights violations remain the business of the entire world.