Misinformation about Iran’s death sentence deceives PM Trudeau and could help Tehran spin news on protests

False claims about the fate of detained Iranian protesters shared on social media by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other celebrities drew criticism from human rights experts who said they could undermine an uprising against the Iranian regime. ing.

More than 15,000 people have been arrested for participating in anti-government protests in the past eight weeks, following the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not wearing the hijab properly .

Since then, protests have spread across Iran, demanding greater freedom and the overthrow of the Iranian government, prompting a bloody crackdown that has killed at least 328 people, including 50 children.

In a since-deleted tweet, Trudeau condemned the “barbaric decision of the Iranian regime to impose the death penalty on nearly 15,000 protesters” on Monday.

Several celebrities, including actors Viola Davis and Sophie Turner, shared similar messages to their millions of social media followers on Monday.

Protesters Still Face Serious Consequences

The figures cited by Trudeau have been discredited as false information.

According to official Iranian news sources and outside observers, more than 2,000 people have been indicted for their alleged involvement in the protests, including at least one who faced charges that could carry the death penalty. 20 people included. Authorities announced the first death sentences for protesters on Sunday.

Experts say the misinformation shared by Prime Minister Trudeau and others is regrettable, but they do not address the serious consequences protesters could face, including a possible death sentence and the Iranian government’s tough efforts to block dissent. Do not cover up.

“Iran’s security and judiciary have committed such serious human rights abuses over the past 40 years that I don’t think there is any need to speculate or pre-empt what the Iranian government can do,” he said. Tara Seperi Farr, a researcher investigating human rights abuses in Iran for Human Rights Watch.

Iran responds to PM Trudeau’s tweet

She and other Iranian human rights experts say false information shared by Western leaders informs the Iranian regime’s narrative that the protests are a foreign conspiracy to destabilize the country. I was worried about

Hadi Gaemi, executive director of the Iranian Center for Human Rights, told CBC News that “the Iranian government has found one case of false statements and used it to discredit all information about the violence they are committing.” I know you want to hurt me.” From New York.

“We have to worry [for the protesters], but it is not necessary to say that 14,000 are at risk of execution. Because it is not a fact of the field.

Iran’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. But several state media outlets took to Twitter to take aim at Trudeau. I drew him in clown makeup Others called the prime minister a “fake news creator” and called for Mr Trudeau to be taken down — about 11 hours after the tweet was posted — ‘A clear setback’

Prime Minister Trudeau’s office said the tweet was based on an “initial report that was incomplete and lacked the necessary context” and pointed to news articles from Newsweek and Yahoo News. Fixed.)

Similar tweets by a number of international political commentators and other users remained on Twitter Tuesday night.

Iranians ‘seem not to be afraid’

Experts told CBC News they expect Iranian judges to order the execution of more protesters in the coming weeks and months.

Iran’s attorney general said last week that he had instructed judges to “not show unnecessary sympathy” to protesters deemed to be “key elements of these riots,” according to Iran’s semi-official student news reported.

“I am sure many of them [protesters] They have already been tortured and, unfortunately, some of them will probably be executed,” Kave Charleuse, a human rights activist, lawyer and senior fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute, told the CBC. . power and politics.

“This is a regime that only knows about bloodshed, a regime that knows only about atrocities, and uses its power by trying to be violent against protesters as a way to frighten them. You will try to show it, or you will try to show its strength.”

But Sharooz also noted that state crackdowns and threats of harsh penalties had failed to quell the protests.

On Tuesday, Iran saw renewed demonstrations and labor strikes marking three years after the turmoil that came to be known as “Bloody November.” Violent protests over fuel prices prompted the government to shut down the internet and government forces killed hundreds, though some sources put the death toll at over 1,500.

“[The government] Unfortunately, they try to create fear by detaining, torturing and executing people. But… I don’t think this will work. At this point, the Iranian people don’t seem to be afraid,” Charros said.

Later this month, the UN Human Rights Council will host a special session on the human rights situation in Iran at the request of dozens of countries, including Canada.

Human rights groups hoped the UN would investigate its treatment of protesters and hold the Iranian government accountable for its actions.

Without such investigations, as Trudeau appears to have discovered, gathering reliable information about the situation inside Iran remains a challenge. Told.

“So I give room for suspicion of anyone outside trying to draw attention to Iran.”