‌Berlin conference marks World Day against the death penalty: Urgent calls to end executions in Iran

On 10 October, a conference was held in Berlin to mark World Day Against the Death Penalty, drawing attention to the escalating wave of executions in Iran. Titled "Iran: End to Executions, Call for Accountability for Atrocities", the event brought together distinguished speakers from various sectors of the German political spectrum to address this pressing human rights crisis.

The conference featured a lineup of esteemed speakers, including politicians including, Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth, former President of the Bundestag, Thomas Lutze member of Bundestag (SPD), Dr. Hans-Ulrich Seidt, former Inspector General of German Foreign Ministry, Thomas Harms, Superintendent of the Protestant Church in Berlin, Leo Dautzenberg, Chairman of the German Solidarity Committee for a Free Iran, as well as other distinguished politicians and rights activists.

Maryam Rajavi (pictured), the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), joined the conference via video. Paying tribute to the courageous women and men who have been executed and massacred by the mullahs’ regime, she emphasized, “They gave their lives, paying the ultimate price for freedom and human rights. The World Day Against Death Penalty is an opportunity to express our anger and outrage toward the mullahs’ regime,” adding, “This is a regime whose leading institution—the office of Ali Khamenei, the mullahs’ supreme leader—serves as the command center for killings, terrorism, and executions. In this regime, all factions share a consensus on the practice of executions.”

Referring to the shocking surge in executions during the recent months, Rajavi explained: “Sensing their impending downfall, the clerics have turned their efforts toward countering the regime’s primary threat to survival… For decades, Western governments have granted impunity to the ruling executioners in Iran for their massacres and relentless, hour-by-hour executions.”

“Why does a world that has established the World Day Against Death Penalty to express its shame and moral conscience against capital punishment continue to tolerate Iran's regime of executions and massacres?” she continued.

Addressing the clerical regime’s destructive role in the conflict in the region, she said, “Today, after one year, there remains no doubt that the Iranian regime is the main instigator of the tragic conflict in the Middle East and a principal party in this war. The regime ignites these flames to evade the uprising of the Iranian people. For 40 years, we have consistently stated that the head of the snake of warmongering and terrorism in this region is the Iranian regime. We reiterated this principled stance on October 7, 2023, yet it fell on the deaf ears of appeasement and was disregarded. Of course, the price has been paid by millions of innocent lives—those killed, injured, and displaced across the Middle East over the years.

Khamenei has repeatedly stated that if he ceases his warmongering beyond Iran's borders, he will have to confront the uprising of the people in Iranian cities. He squanders the nation’s wealth and keeps the people in poverty to fund proxy groups.”

The President-elect of the Iranian Resistance emphasized, “Recent events have validated the Iranian Resistance's view that, as long as this regime has not been overthrown, the cycle of war and terrorism in the region will persist. For years, we have asserted that recognizing the Iranian people’s struggle to overthrow the regime and supporting the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as a democratic alternative is essential for peace and stability in the region and the world.”

Earlier the day, it was announced that more than 1,500 prominent personalities from 78 countries across five continents, representing various political affiliations, had signed a statement in support of the "No to Execution" campaign in Iran, initiated by Iranian communities in Europe, the Iran Human Rights Monitor, and human rights organizations.

The signatories include over 450 current members of parliaments from various parties and 34 political leaders, including former presidents and prime ministers.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), called for this campaign in July.

The Iranian opposition leader saluted “the political prisoners in 22 of Khamenei's prisons who go on hunger strikes every Tuesday in opposition to executions.”

The hunger strike was initiated by prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison (Karaj) 38 weeks ago. Subsequently, prisoners in the notorious Evin Prison joined it, and it has expanded to other prisons throughout Iran.

Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth expressed concerns over the continued human rights violations in Iran, particularly the fate of political prisoners. She said: "I have known and supported the Iranian Resistance around Mrs. Rajavi for many years. This movement has persevered and never stopped despite all the suffering. When we see the prisons in Iran, we must all be ashamed of the way they are tortured."

Member of the Bundestag Thomas Lutze (SPD) emphasized: “If the Iranian regime did not act in the background and massively support terrorist groups, this brutal war and these massacres in the region would not be taking place, at least not to this extent. The extent of the crimes occurring in Iran has not yet been sufficiently understood in Germany.”

Dr. Hans-Ulrich Seidt pointed out that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) should be blacklisted as a terrorist entity and underscored that appeasement is not the correct approach vis-a-vis the clerical regime.

In his speech, Superintendent Thomas Harms, who represented the Protestant Church in Berlin, pointed out: "Under both the Shah and the Mullah regimes, people in Iran were and are being executed, murdered, and abducted. Even abroad, opposition members of the NCRI and the People's Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) are threatened, killed, and persecuted. We must work for a free Iran."

The conference highlighted alarming statistics from Amnesty International, revealing that in 2023, Iran accounted for 74% of all recorded executions worldwide. Since the inauguration of Masoud Pezeshkian as the new president of the regime, at least 255 prisoners, including political dissidents, have been executed, raising concerns about the regime's use of executions to instill fear and suppress dissent.

Prof. Javaid Rehman, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, was referenced throughout the discussions. In his last report before leaving the post in July, he described the regime's actions as "crimes against humanity" and “genocide,” and urged governments to pursue accountability for the perpetrators of these crimes based on international judicial jurisdiction.

Organized by Iranian communities in Europe, the German Section, and the German Solidarity Committee for a Free Iran (DSFI), the conference served as a crucial platform for raising awareness and mobilizing support against the death penalty and human rights violations in Iran.

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