Iran is allowing the execution of protestors
On November 8, Iran’s parliament voted (227/290) to execute convicted protestors on the grounds that the government needs to teach protestors — or those who would be — a “hard lesson” about breaking the law.
On November 14, Iran issued the first known death sentencing of a protestor. This decision is a major escalation in Iranian affairs, as some 14,000 or more protestors have been imprisoned since the start of the Amini protests. over 300 have been killed before this parliamentary vote.
It should be noted that the death of Mahsa Amini was the spark that set off this torrent of protests, but other factors such as rising cost of goods, inflation, and the repression of civil liberties have also been issues of focus for protestors. In short, Iran is suffering from some major issues and the government, as tyrannical as it is, is struggling to keep the lid on its society.
Iranians have been protesting across more than 80 cities for nearly 8 weeks now, and I’d like to ask a burning question: Could Iran face another revolution?
Let me share a quote with you from an Iranian general who, when asked about dealing with the protests, had this to say: “But the day he [Ayatollah] gives the order to deal with them, they will have no place in our country.” That quote is from General Heydari, and it made clear that the Iranian government, at a mere head nod, was prepared to kill protestors indiscriminately.
And yet, we read the news of this parliamentary vote with shock. “How could this be? How could a government do such a thing?” We are clearly disconnected from the reality on the ground in Iran.
This is a country suffering heavily from the leadership it has been under in every way imaginable and because the response from the people has been so wide sweeping, the Iranian government sees its worst case scenario coming to fruition; a revolution.
If that assessment seems extreme, consider the rheotric from General Heydari, or the notion that executions merely serve as a “hard lesson” and deterrent for protestors. Violence against the protestors is Iran’s final bid for control, and such is the nature of tyrannical regimes. When a mob forms with hard factors, i.e. persistent evidence of wrongdoing by the state, the only solution for a state without law and order is to deny and destroy that “pariah.”
It has happened all throughout human history, and Iran in 2022 is no exception.
UPDATE: November 18, 2022. An interesting escalation of great symbolic value.
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