Iran: Pope Francis condemns use of death penalty on protesters

Iran’s execution of four people on charges linked to the ongoing protests has resulted in widespread condemnation from the West. Pope Francis has also issued a strong condemnation of the Islamic Republic’s use of the death penalty on people convicted of charges in relation to the protests.

In his traditional New Year’s address to diplomats on Monday, the Pontiff spoke out for the first time against the crackdown the Islamic Republic is engaging in against the demonstrators in the ongoing protests. The pope also condemned the ongoing war in Ukraine again, along with the issue of abortion.

“The right to life is also threatened in those places where the death penalty continues to be imposed, as is the case these days in Iran, following the recent demonstrations demanding greater respect for the dignity of women,” said the pope.

“The death penalty cannot be employed for a purported state justice, since it does not constitute a deterrent nor render justice to the victims, but only fuels the thirst for vengeance,” said the pontiff, who repeated his call for an end to capital punishment all over the world, as it was “always inadmissible since it attacks the inviolability and the dignity of the person.”

The number of people who have been executed on protest-linked charges has climbed up to four in recent days. Protests erupted across the country in September after the death of Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of the morality police. Amini died after she was detained for allegedly breaching the Islamic Republic’s dress code for women, sparking public outrage.

Many people from all walks of life have since joined in the protests. The Islamic Republic has sought to blame its foreign adversaries, such as the United States, for the unrest.

On the same day, the independent Oversight Board for the Meta social media company overturned the decision by the firm to remove a post on Facebook calling for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. The panel said the post did not violate the rule that barred violent threats from the platform.

The board said in its ruling that the phrase “death to Khamenei” is often used to mean “down with Khamenei” but urged the company to develop better ways of considering the context of such posts in its content policies and make a clear outline of when rhetorical threats against heads of state are allowed.