Less than two weeks after the execution of Majid Kazemi, the Iranian protester executed on May 19th, one of his relatives has revealed that Kazemi’s father has had his pension suspended and his sister has been fired.
Mohammad Hashemi, Majid Kazemi’s cousin, made this known in a tweet, adding that despite a week having passed since his relative’s execution, Majid Kazemi’s two brothers, Mehdi and Hossein, are still in detention by the security institutions of the Islamic Republic.
According to a report published by Iran’s judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency, Saleh Mirehashimi, Majid Kazemi, and Saeed Yaqoubi were executed at dawn on May 19th at a prison in the central Iranian city of Isfahan.
The trio were involved in an incident on November 16, 2022, during which two members of the Iranian paramilitary forces and a law enforcement officer were shot dead in Isfahan.
The clash occurred at the height of protests caused by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while being held in custody on suspicion of violating the rules of wearing the hijab, or headscarf.
However, based on a photo of the court verdict released by the families of the defendants, the death sentences for the three men were not for murder but for “war against God,” a crime often applied to political persecution in Iran.
All three men denied the murder charge during their forced confessions broadcast on Iran’s state television.
Calls for the executions to be canceled have increased in recent days after Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the sentences.
Reports from Iran indicate that after the execution of these three young protesters, government pressure on their families has increased.
A week ago, Kazemi’s cousin said that security agents had attacked the Kazemi family’s house and had “violently” arrested his two brothers. The arrest of Mehdi and Hossein Kazemi took place just one day after the execution of Majid Kazemi’s death sentence.
