Iran urged to to ‘immediately quash all death sentences’

Amnesty International has urged Iran to ‘immediately quash all death sentences’ amid a popular uprising. It said the Islamic Republic was hoping to ‘intimidate’ those participating in nationwide riots.Riots began following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, while being held for ‘inappropriate attire’.These began as collectives against the power of the country’s morality police and soon spread across the nation into demonstrations for the toppling of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime.Iran has now sentenced to death a number of individuals connected to recent anti-Government protests.At least four of these have been charged with ‘enmity against God’. Amnesty International urges Iran to ‘immediately quash all death sentences’. (Image: Getty)Revolutionary Courts, quoted in the BBC, said one of the unnamed ‘rioters’ hit and killed a policeman with his car.Another is reported to have possessed a knife and a gun, while the third is said to have caused ‘terror’.Tehran authorities said the fourth was convicted of a knife attack.Amnesty International has claimed Iran is seeking the death penalty of at least 21 people.READ MORE: Budget LIVE: Hunt unveils eye-watering tax rises and spending cuts Ali Khamenei. (Image: Getty)The organisation described the Islamic Republic’s pursuit as a collective of ‘sham trials designed to intimidate those participating in the popular uprising’ and ‘to deter others from joining the movement’.Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director, urged Iran to ‘immediately quash all death sentences’.She added the country must also ‘refrain from seeking the imposition of the death penalty and drop all charges against those arrested in connection with their peaceful participation in protests’.DON’T MISS: Zelensky’s call for no fly zone rejected [OPINION] Putin’s army from ‘mysteriously weak’ to ‘brutal’ [REVEAL] People sensationally blame Brexit for Russia’s chilling invasion [REPORT] Military power of Iran. (Image: Express)Ms Eltahawy said: ‘Two months into the popular uprising and three years on from the November 2019 protests, the crisis of impunity prevailing in Iran is enabling the Iranian authorities to not only continue carrying out mass killings but also to escalate the use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression.’Member states of the UN Human Rights Council holding a special session on Iran next week must urgently establish an investigative and accountability mechanism to address this all-out-assault on the right to life and other human rights.’At least 348 protesters have been killed during nationwide protests and 15,900 arrested by security forces, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.Video footage shared online in recent weeks have shown the authorities firing into crowds of protesters.The Iranian administration’s response to demonstrations has received much vocal criticism across the West.