Iran hanged a man Thursday convicted of slashing a security guard and blocking a street in Tehran — the first such execution over the country’s ongoing nationwide protests.
Iran has been rocked by unrest that erupted after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 while in the custody of the morality police. The protests represent one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979.
At least 475 people have been killed in the protests so far and more than 18,000 have been detained amid a brutal security crackdown, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran.
The Mizan news agency, run by Iran’s judiciary, identified the protester who was put to death Thursday as Mohsen Shekari. It said he had been convicted in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, which typically holds closed-door trials where defendants are not allowed to pick their own lawyers, or even see the evidence against them.
Shekari was accused of blocking a street and attacking with a machete a member of the security forces, who required stitches for his wounds, the agency said.
The Mizan report also alleged that Shekari admitted that he had been offered money by an acquaintance to attack the security forces.
Mizan said Shekari had been arrested on Sept. 25, then convicted on Nov. 20 on the charge of “moharebeh” — a Farsi word meaning “waging war against God.” That charge carries the death penalty.
Mizan said an appeal by Shekari’s lawyer against the sentence failed.
State media published a video of what it said was Shekari’s confession where he appears with a bruise on his right cheek.
Rights groups have said Shekari was tortured and forced to confess. Germany and the UK condemned his execution.
“The Iranian regime’s contempt for humanity knows no bounds,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. “But the threat of execution will not stifle people’s will for freedom.”
British foreign minister James Cleverly said he was “outraged” by the news of the execution.
“The world cannot turn a blind eye to the abhorrent violence committed by the Iranian regime against its own people,” Cleverly tweeted.
Amnesty International has said Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 21 people in what it called “sham trials designed to intimidate those participating in the popular uprising that has rocked Iran.”
“The Iranian authorities must immediately quash all death sentences, refrain from seeking the imposition of the death penalty and drop all charges against those arrested in connection with their peaceful participation in protests,” it said.
Iran has blamed the unrest on foreign countries, including the US, but offered no evidence of outside interference.
The judiciary has so far announced that 10 other people have been sentenced to death on the charges of “waging war against God” or “corruption on Earth” in connection with the protests. The defendants’ identities have not been disclosed.
Judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi said Tuesday that five people indicted in the killing of a Basij militia member, Rouhollah Ajamian, had been sentenced to death.
Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA reported Thursday that five suspected members of the Islamic State militant group have been charged with “war against God” for their role in the massacre of Shi’ite pilgrims in October.
Iran is among the countries leading the world in executions. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said the number this year reportedly surpassed 400 by September for the first time in five years.
With Post wires
