The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling for an international outcry against Iran, whose Parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to use the death penalty against protesters.
The parliament voted by a solid majority (227 of 290) to execute all protesters, saying rebels need to be taught the most “hard lesson.” CNN reports that about 14,000 people have been arrested in connection with the unprecedented public protests against the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who is Kurdish. Amini was taken into custody for “improper” placement of her hijab during a visit to Tehran and died of head injuries.
Her death has set off daily protests against the regime in the streets for more than seven weeks, with young women removing and burning hijabs, and “Woman Life Freedom” becoming the protest slogan. More than 300 people, including children and teenagers, are already believed to have been killed by security crackdowns.
To help ensure that protest voices are heard, FFRF has wired funds to the Council for Ex-Muslims of Britain for the purchase of a major sound system. Under the leadership of Maryam Namazie, the council has been holding daily protests in London and other European cities.
In response to the Parliament vote, journalist Masih Alinejad tweeted: “227 members of the 290-seat Parliament in Iran have called on the judiciary to issue death sentences for people arrested during the ongoing uprising. They want to execute innocent protesters who chanted Woman Life Freedom. The world must stop this act of terror.”
She is right: The world must stop this act of terror.
“The United States itself is at a perilous crossroads with the rising Christian nationalist movement,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “Iran is an object lesson in why we must combat theocracy.”
