Iran executes second sentenced to death for participating in anti-regime protests

Iran publicly hanged a man who had been sentenced to death for the murder of two members of the security forces on Monday, the Mizan judicial news agency reported, marking the second execution linked to anti-regime protests in Iran.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
12 December 2022 Monday 02:30
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Iran executes second sentenced to death for participating in anti-regime protests

Iran publicly hanged a man who had been sentenced to death for the murder of two members of the security forces on Monday, the Mizan judicial news agency reported, marking the second execution linked to anti-regime protests in Iran. less than a week.

The protests that have shaken the country since mid-September erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was arrested by the now-disbanded morality police for violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code. The demonstrations have turned into one of the biggest popular riots in the last decade, led by angry Iranians from all layers of society and from almost all corners of the country. They pose one of the biggest challenges to the legitimacy of clerical leaders since the 1979 revolution.

Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, had been sentenced to death for "waging war against God", a crime which, along with "corruption on Earth", is punishable by hanging in Iran. His execution was criticized by human rights activists as a "criminal act" by Iranian clergy designed to deter dissidents.

Iranian state media released footage of a man, whom they identified as Rahnavard, stabbing another who fell into a parked motorcycle and stabbing another person immediately afterwards. Mizan said that Rahnavard was detained when he was trying to flee the country 23 days ago. And he added that his conviction was upheld by a higher court.

The hanging of another Iranian youth, Mohsen Shekari, convicted on Thursday of stabbing a security guard and blocking a Tehran street during protests, has been widely condemned by the United States and its allies. Human rights groups claimed that Shekari was tortured and forced to confess.

The judicial authorities have so far sentenced 10 people to death for their participation in the demonstrations and an unknown number to prison terms. Amnesty International has denounced that at least 21 of the 2,000 defendants for the protests face death sentences, in what it has described as "sham trials designed to intimidate those who participate in the popular uprising that has shaken Iran."

According to Amnesty International, 22-year-old Mahan Sadrat, sentenced to death after a hasty and "unfair" trial on 3 November, was transferred on Saturday to Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, near Tehran, "causing fears of imminent execution ". He was found guilty of drawing a knife during the protests, something he flatly denied in court.

Among others sentenced to the same sentence, rapper Saman Seyedi, 24, who, like Mahsa Amini, belongs to Iran's Kurdish minority. His mother pleaded for his life in a video posted on social networks: "My son is an artist, not a troublemaker," he lamented. Another rapper, Toomaj Salehi, who has voiced his support for anti-regime protests, is being charged with "corruption on earth" and faces the death penalty, Iranian judicial authorities confirmed last month.

The human rights group HRANA, which keeps a daily tally of the deadly and repressive balance of the demonstrations, affirms that 488 protesters have died, 68 of them minors, as of Sunday. 62 members of the security forces have also been killed and 18,259 protesters are believed to have been detained. While the United Nations claims that the protests have cost the lives of more than 300 people, the official version offered by a top Iranian state security body admits that 200 people, including members of the security forces, have been killed in the riots.

Iran executes more convicts than any other country except China, according to Amnesty International. More than 500 people were executed under the ayatollahs' regime in 2022, according to Oslo-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR).