Stop the Executions

Javad Laari has been sentenced to death without the possibility of pardon. He was arrested September 16, 2009 and his personal belongings, including his identification and CDs, were seized. Mr. Laari was an prominent bazaari in Tehran prior to his arrest. He was charged with acting against national security and sentenced to death as Moharabeh, a politically-driven charge meaning, "armed war against God."

In the 1980s, Mr. Laari was a political prisoner and member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران), also known as PMOI, MEK, or MKO, among others. His death sentence, like so many other recent cases, seems to be the Islamic Republic's attempt at purging former opposition groups from the country. Regardless of our views against armed opposition groups, we believe that political ideology and membership is never justification for murder or execution.

Javad Laari's death sentence violates the his fundamental right to life, and Iran's use of the death penalty is an abomination. Even in countries that still employ the death penalty, Mr. Laari has been unjustly condemned. Under the protection granted by Article 6(2) of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Mr. Laari should not be sentenced to death, except for the most serious offenses. Iran, which has not abolished the death penalty, is a signatory to the ICCPR and other UN conventions, and continues to defy international law by executing political prisoners.

Javad Laari was among the political prisoners reported in the Defenders of Human Rights Center's December 2009 quarterly report.