Iran crackdown: Why there is a surge in executions — Global News Podcast

[0:00] Welcome to the Global News podcast from the BBC. I'm Will Chork and today I'm joined by Parham [0:05] Ghabadi from BBC Persian. And Parham, the United Nations has condemned a sweeping crackdown in [0:11] Iran, warning that executions and mass arrests as well have surged during this war. [0:17] Correct. So according to the United Nations, 21 prisoners have been executed and they're [0:22] accused of being a Mossad agent or they were involved in the January protests. As you know, [0:30] this war happened just 50 days after the protests, mass protests, nationwide protests in Iran, [0:36] where thousands of Iranians were killed by security agents in just the span of two days, [0:42] only in two nights, thousands were killed. So now rights groups have always been accusing the [0:48] Iranian regime of using execution as an intimidation tool. So whenever the regime is under threat and [0:56] whenever it sees itself and its existence threatened, they use, they ramp up the number [1:02] of the, they increase the number of the executions. Today, one of the rights groups in Iran published [1:07] an audio from one Iranian prisoner. He's just 26 years old. He was imprisoned. He was arrested three [1:13] years ago on charges of being in touch with Mossad. And so he's crying on the phone. He says that he was [1:20] just notified that he was handed down. His execution sentence was confirmed by the Iranian Supreme Court. [1:28] And he explains that his execution, when it was handed to him, it was revoked twice by the Supreme Court. [1:35] This was the third time and the Supreme Court approved it finally. So there are, what I'm trying [1:40] to say is that there are a lot of ambiguities around how these sentences are handed down. Many rights [1:46] groups are saying that they do not have the proper proceedings, legal proceedings. They do not have [1:52] access to proper lawyers. And these are more political sentences rather than something actual, [1:59] like something that they have actually done. Yeah, we've had this, this comments from Volker [2:04] Turk from the UN. He said he's appalled and that, and I quote, on top of the already severe impacts of [2:09] the conflict, the rights of the Iranian people continue to be stripped from them by the authorities in [2:14] harsh and brutal ways. Is there a sense that Iran is using the war as a smokescreen to carry on [2:20] doing these activities, but kind of hide it from the gaze of the world? [2:24] So it appears so, it appears so. And like I said, when Iran is under pressure, they use it, [2:30] they use executions. And this time we have mass arrests, as you mentioned, mass detention of [2:36] political dissidents. So this time, for example, every single day you see it on Iranian [2:42] media that they're publishing the videos of people who've just filmed, for example, I don't know, [2:49] a place that was targeted by Israelis and Americans, and they send it to, you know, social media or news [2:56] channels outside Iran, and they've been arrested. So police raid their house and arrest a young woman [3:03] or a young man. And then they publish their forced confessions on news. So they use these tools in order [3:10] to stop Iranians from contacting Persian-speaking channels outside the country, and also sending [3:16] them material. And as you know, it's been almost two months that there is a digital blackout in Iran. [3:22] So Iranians have, can hardly connect to the internet, rarely. At the same time, massive repression of [3:30] Iranians. And apart from that, what Iranian government has done, which is unprecedented, [3:35] is that on a daily basis, every night, its supporters come to the streets, and they start [3:41] chanting Allahu Akbar and pro-regime, you know, slogans, in order to intimidate the citizens, [3:48] because they fear that Iranians, because of the economic situations, might revolt and might take [3:52] to the streets. And then they have to face another round of protests in the midst of the war. [3:58] And yet, despite that blackout that you mentioned, since the start of the conflict, [4:01] you and your colleagues from BBC Persian have been getting in touch with people in Iran. [4:06] I wonder, what have you heard about the mood inside the country? [4:09] So when I talk to Iranians inside the country, which is very difficult, [4:14] there are different feelings and sentiments inside the country. So some of them, they were happy that [4:22] the Iranian supreme leader was killed. However, now after two months of war, and as they're suffering [4:28] economically and financially from the consequences of the war, the mood is changing, the sentiment [4:33] that's changing, and some of them are saying that we just want an end to this and get back to a normal [4:39] life. Because they were, they thought that this attack is going to topple the Iranian regime. That did [4:46] not happen. Not only that did not happen, but also it has, Iranian regime, most analysts believe that it [4:53] has become more hardliner. The Revolutionary Guards, IRGC, have the upper hand. So some of them are [4:59] really disappointed that they see that not only this regime is not gone and overthrown, but it has [5:04] become more hardliner and the suppression and the crackdown has become more intense. The other group [5:10] of people, when you talk to them, they are really dismayed. And many of them, they told me and my [5:17] colleagues that we are selling our gold, jewelry, things like that in order to be able to get by [5:23] and to make the ends meet. Because they've been laid off, massive laid outs across the country. [5:28] Many people, their livelihood was connected to the internet. They had online shops, you know, [5:34] producing stuff, selling it online. So their livelihood is totally cut out and they cannot [5:39] make the ends meet in this situation. So they're selling carpets, rugs, and jewelries in order to be able [5:46] to survive. So in the weeks before the war, Donald Trump warned Iran not to kill protesters, [5:52] given that we know that it's still carrying on. Has that rhetoric changed anything? [5:57] So you have to see that Iranians might have considered that before the war started. But as [6:04] soon as the war started, things changed because both Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, they said [6:09] that this is the aim of the war is regime change. So Iranian regime, it's an existential fight for them. [6:15] They're fighting for their survival. And they know about the mass discontent of many Iranians [6:21] inside the country. Like I said, in January, there were nationwide protests. Thousands of people were [6:26] killed by security forces. So they are aware of this. Now they know that it's extremely detrimental [6:33] for them if there's another round of protest while they're fighting Americans and Israelis. So they [6:40] don't, at this stage, they don't care about that. They are carrying out these executions to send a [6:47] signal to people that if you revolt, if you contact Americans, if you contact Israelis, if you have [6:53] anything to do with the war or with protests, you're going to be killed one way or another. [6:59] So for them, right now, the most important thing is to survive, to be able to suppress [7:07] those who are dissidents, and at the same time, be able to survive the fight with Americans. [7:13] We're talking about this today because of comments from the UN. What does history tell us about how [7:20] Iran reacts to interference from outside, whether it be from Donald Trump or from the likes of the UN? [7:25] So it has changed over time. Right now, like I said, Revolutionary Guards have the upper hand. [7:32] It appears to be a rift in the system as well, because there are people like Ghalibov, [7:38] Iranian parliament speaker, although they have the background from Revolutionary Guard, [7:42] they're more pragmatic. Or for example, Iranian foreign minister, he's more, you know, a moderate. [7:49] However, the head of the Revolutionary Guard, the commander, Ahmad Vahidi, he's a heartliner. He's a [7:56] person who is on Interpol, you know, arrest warrant. There's an arrest warrant for him because of his [8:03] involvement in AMIA bombing back in the 90s of the Jewish, you know, cultural center in Argentina. [8:10] So because of that, so, and he was the first head of Iranian Quds Force, which is Revolutionary Guards, [8:19] foreign off-brands. They operate in other countries. So I want to give you a sense of [8:24] what kind of person seems to be running the country right now. So he's got, you know, [8:29] he's leading the Revolutionary Guard. He's fighting the Americans. And it seems, it appears to many [8:35] analysts that he's calling the shots right now, even in the negotiations with Americans. [8:39] So for this kind of person to say that the UN is saying this and that, the UN is condemning [8:44] something that you're doing, is highly unlikely to change their, you know, decision-making process. [8:51] Parham, thank you very much for your time. That's Parham Ghabadi from BBC Persian. [8:56] That is it for this edition of the Global News Podcast. If you like what we do and you want to [9:00] hear more from us, you can click the link below. Thanks for watching.