Olympian Sharron Davies today warned the West had to stop mollifying Iran’s murderous mullahs as two more dissidents opposed to the Ayatollah were hanged at dawn. Davies has been a passionate advocate of democracy in Iran since 1988 when the Ayatollah Khomeini ordered a mass slaughter of 30,000 Iranians, many of them popular sportsmen and women, who had taken a stand against his fascist theocracy.
They did not and yesterday political prisoners Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani were hanged at first light in Qezelhessar Prison. They were charged with the medieval “moharebeh” (waging war against God), “corruption on earth”, together with “baghi” (armed rebellion), membership of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), collecting classified information, and conspiring against national security.
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran is the principal Iranian resistance movement. The state murders coincided with the anniversary of the 1988 massacre. Davies said: “Today’s news of the hangings of these two dissidents is horrifying but should come as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about this awful tyrannical government.
“In the late 80s Khomeini ordered the mass slaughter of 30,000 Iranians in revenge for actions against his fascist theocracy. We tried to highlight the possibility of the killing happening again with a letter to the UN but nothing was done and now these two men are dead. The West has to stop turning a blind eye.”
The swimming legend turned broadcaster was joined by co-signatories including round-the-world yachtswoman Tracy Edwards and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
Dr. Williams, now Baron Williams of Oystermouth, said: “The execution this morning of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, in the face of worldwide repugnance and protest, is the latest evidence of the moral bankruptcy of the current government of Iran, who are once again mobilizing religious bigotry to consolidate their weakening hold on a society more and more alienated by cruelty, corruption and incompetence.
“But we need still stronger diplomatic pressures to be brought to bear by the UK Government and others, and fuller engagement with democratic opposition groups within and beyond Iran’s borders. Horrific and unjust as these judicial murders are, they are a sign of weakness, not strength. The rest of the world needs to be clear and consistent in its condemnation and in its commitment to a just and inclusive future for Iran that will secure the rights of all citizens, men and women, of all religious convictions and none.”
Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which is fighting to remove the Ayatollah regime and establish a free and democratic Iran said: “Khamenei, the snake-bearing Zahhak (an evil figure in Persian mythology) in the final days of his disgraceful rule, has committed a heinous crime in a desperate attempt to prolong his regime by a few more days.
“But it only fuels the fury and hatred of the Iranian people and doubles the determination of Iran’s valiant youth to confront religious fascism.”
She led calls for the United Nations and its member states to strongly condemn the barbaric crime saying yet more ineffective verbal condemnation was not enough: “The time has come for concrete and effective action. The international community’s inaction has emboldened this bloodthirsty regime to commit further crimes and executions. Many PMOI and resistance prisoners are currently on death row—urgent action must be taken to save their lives.”
At least 14 other political prisoners have been sentenced to death by the regime’s judiciary for alleged membership in the PMOI and are at imminent risk of execution. Rajavi added: “Silence in the face of escalating executions and savage human rights violations in Iran over the past four decades has not only served as a green light to the ruling clerics to continue their crimes against the Iranian people, but has also encouraged the regime’s export of terrorism, warmongering, and pursuit of nuclear weapons.
“Governments’ inaction allowed repeated calls from human rights organizations and various parliaments to prevent the execution of Behrouz and Mehdi to be ignored. It is time to put an end to this inaction in the face of a regime of executions, torture, and terror.”
After receiving his death sentence, Behrouz declared in a message to the Iranian people saying: “I will not bargain over my life with anyone. I am ready for my insignificant life to be the sacrifice for the liberation of the Iranian people.”