New Delhi: Even as the world condemned Iran over its orders to execute people convicted on charges related to the nationwide protests that erupted over the death of Mahsa Amini, President Ebrahim Raisi has insisted on the 'identification, trial and punishment' of all those found involved in violence.
"The executions are aimed at creating a republic of fear in which the people don't dare to protest and the officials don't dare to defect," Ali Vaez, the International Crisis Group think-tank's Iran Project Director told Reuters.
Raisi's strict handling of the recent crackdown, which according to campaigners saw the deaths of over 500 protesters and several security personnel, echoes his role in the execution of political prisoners in 1988, Reuters reported.
Reuters reported that a few weeks after the ceasefire ended the eight years of war with Iraq, authorities in Iran conducted mass executions of thousands of opponents. An Amnesty International report said 'death committees' comprising "religious judges, prosecutors, and intelligence ministry officials to decide the fate of thousands of detainees in arbitrary trials which lasted just a few minutes."
According to Amnesty, Raisi was a part of the death committee. When asked about the allegations in 2021, he said and as reported by Reuters: "If a judge, a prosecutor has defended the security of the people, he should be praised ... I am proud to have defended human rights in every position I have held."
Recently, Iran said it executed dual Iranian-British national Akbari who once worked for the country's defense ministry. The announcement came after Iran accused Akbari of being a spy for the British intelligence agency MI-6. This execution also came amid the outcry over the death sentence of those held amid nationwide protests.
As per the AP, Akbari ran a private think tank and was not seen in public since 2019, when he was apparently arrested. He was reportedly close to a top security official in Iran named Ali Shamkhani which made analysts suggest that his death sentence could have been tied to a possible power struggle within Iran’s security apparatus amid the protests.