'This may be the last time you hear my voice': Political executions surge in Iran since start of war

With its increased use of the death penalty, the regime is attempting to restore authority after its image was damaged by the January uprising and the war, according to Kaveh Kermanshahi of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network."At a time when it is confronting multiple internal and external crises, it is attempting, through intensified repression and an increase in executions, to stage a display of power and project the message: 'I am still here, and I still control the situation,'" he says.Late last month, state-run television carried a report on the execution of Sasan Azadvar, a 21-year-old karate champion from the central city of Isfahan. He'd been convicted of "moharabeh" or "waging war against God," and "effective collaboration with the enemy" for attacking police forces during January's protests. He is seen confessing to using a stick to break the window of a police car and asking for petrol to set it on fire.But he was not accused of any lethal offence, which - under international law - is the legal threshold for the use of the death penalty.Iran HUMAN RIGHTSSasan Azadvar, 21, was executed last month, according to Iranian state media Iranian authorities did not respond to the BBC's request for comment on their increased use of the death penalty, including against Sardar Azadvar, and on claims of torture.But on 30 April, the head of Iran's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, dismissed international criticism of death sentences linked to January's unrest, saying that his courts would not be swayed.Each of the condemned has their own story. But human rights activists speak of disturbing patterns. The death sentence is disproportionately used against members of the country's minorities.Erfan Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old master's student in aerospace engineering, was hanged on 11 May. Iran's judiciary said he'd been convicted of sharing classified information with Israeli and US intelligence.But the Norway-based Hengaw human rights organisation published a note they say he wrote before his death."I was arrested on fabricated espionage charges and, after eight and a half months of torture and solitary confinement, was forced into a false confession. Do not let another innocent life be taken in silence."Hengaw said it was deeply concerned by the speed at which trials, sentencing and executions have been taking place, along with "a complete lack of transparency" in judicial proceedings."The Islamic Republic continues its systematic repression of the population by arbitrarily accusing dissidents and critics of being "Israeli spies" without presenting credible evidence or guaranteeing fair trial standards," the group's Aywar Shekhi told the BBC, adding that "many lives are at risk".In his voice message from prison before his execution, Mehrab Abdollahzadeh described the torment of being on death row."A condemned person thinks every single night and day that at any moment, they might be called and taken away to be executed. A condemned person can only find a sliver of peace after 1am at night, perhaps letting go of their racing thoughts to sleep for two or three hours," he said.The 29-year-old Kurdish shop owner was executed - according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network - with no prior warning to his relatives or lawyers, and his body has not been returned to his family.