World
Iran summons Swiss envoy over tweet condemning executions linked to protests
Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran on Sunday in response to Switzerland’s condemnation of the execution of three men connected to anti-regime protests.
“We strongly condemn the executions this morning of three men in connection with the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022,” the Twitter account of the Swiss embassy in Iran wrote on Friday following Iran’s execution of Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi, three men allegedly responsible for the deaths of members of the security forces during protests in 2022.
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“[Switzerland] urges Iran to stop these executions and to take steps to reduce the use of the death penalty,” it added. The Twitter post included an image featuring Amini and Iran’s pre-Islamic Revolution flag, which has angered Tehran.
Amini, 22, died on September 16 shortly after being arrested by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly breaching the country’s strict dress rules for women. Her death triggered months of nationwide anti-regime protests that eventually subsided due to a deadly crackdown by authorities.
The Swiss envoy was summoned over Switzerland’s “interventionist position” as well as the “unprofessional” act of posting an image with a “fake flag,” the semi-official Fars news agency cited the Iranian foreign ministry as saying.
Kazemi, Mirhashemi, and Yaghoubi were found guilty of “moharebeh,” or “war against God,” for drawing a gun during a demonstration in the central city of Isfahan, resulting in the deaths of three members of the security forces, according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website.
The three men were arrested in November and received death sentences in January.
Friday’s executions were condemned by Western countries and human rights organizations.
The charges against the men were “based on unfounded allegations stemming from torture-tainted ‘confessions’,” Amnesty International said.
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