German politician supports Iranian labor activist sentenced to death

Robin Korte, member of the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament, has taken over the political patronage of the Iranian labor activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, who has been sentenced to death.

“The regime in Iran resorts to extremely brutal means to fight its opponents. Human rights violations are commonplace. This was also the case with Sharifeh Mohammadi,” Korte said in a statement.

Korbe added: “Almost two years after the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini, we Europeans must not tire of taking a principled and public stand against the crimes in Iran. We must make it clear: we are observing and protesting.”

The death sentence against Mohammadi, a labor activist imprisoned in Iran on trumped-up charges of armed sedition, has drawn widespread criticism from activists who claim the verdict is based on her membership in an independent, public and legal labor organization ten years ago, underscoring the injustice of the ruling.

Mohammadi, who was arrested in December 2023, is one of the latest victims in a wave of executions aimed at suppressing dissent. According to the United Nations, 834 Iranians were executed last year, a record high and a 50 percent increase from the previous year. Among those executed were at least 22 women, making Iran the world’s leading country for executing women. The 2023 figures, the highest since 2014, were reported by Iran Human Rights.

Since the Woman Life Freedom movement in 2022, several members of the German Bundestag have been providing political support to Iranian political prisoners, many of whom are facing imminent execution on flimsy charges.

During the nationwide protests in Iran, security forces used brutal means. This response led to the deaths of at least 550 protesters and was condemned by a UN commission of inquiry as a crime against humanity.