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Iran summons Swiss ambassador over anti-executions tweet

May 21, 2023

The Swiss embassy has sparked anger by decrying executions of Iranian protesters on Twitter. Tehran said the tweet also showed "a fake flag" of pre-revolutionary Iran.

https://p.dw.com/p/4RdSM
A woman waves a flag at a protest against the Iranian regime in Berlin
The executions of the three men sparked protests outside Iran, including in GermanyImage: Atelier Mehrdad

Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Switzerland's ambassador Nadine Olivieri Lozano on Sunday over a tweet which condemned the recent execution of three anti-government protesters in Iran.

On Friday, the Swiss embassy posted a tweet decrying the deaths and calling on Tehran to "take steps to reduce" the use of the death penalty. 

The three men had taken part in widespread demonstrations prompted the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. The 21-year-old Kurd had been accused of violating Iran's strict Islamic dress code and detained by Iran's morality police in September 2022. She died in police custody.

Iranians protest death of woman in custody

What did the Iranian foreign ministry say?

The Iranian Foreign Ministry described the tweet as an "interventionist position in our country's internal affairs."

The Iranian government particularly took offense at the photo used in the tweet. The photo shows a pro-Amini protest, with both a poster of the late Kurd and Iran's pre-revolutionary flag visible.

Tehran condemned "the unconventional and unprofessional use of this country's embassy in Tehran in republishing an image with a fake flag."

"Such an unconventional action is not compatible with the friendly relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Swiss Confederation, and should be corrected," the Iranian statement said.

The embassy tweet was posted after the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs published the same message in English. The original post contained the same photo with a link to a page clarifying Switzerland's stance on the protests in Iran.

What prompted the Swiss tweet?

On Friday, Iran confirmed the executions of three men.

Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were convicted of "moharebeh," or "war against God," for drawing a gun during a demonstration in November in the central city of Isfahan, the Iranian judiciary's website Mizan Online said. The men had been found guilty of involvement in the deaths of security forces' members during protests.

Authorities said the men killed two members of the Basij paramilitary force and a law enforcement officer had died during the rally.

The trio were arrested shortly after and sentenced to death in January.

Majid Kazemi, others face execution in Iran

rmt/dj (AFP, AP)