Iranian authorities found two men guilty of killing a member of the security forces and disturbing the peace. The defendants were executed by hanging, reports Reuters.
According to the agency, the defendants were 22-year-old Mohammad Mehdi Karami and 39-year-old Mohammad Hosseini. The investigation alleges that during the autumn protest rallies in the city of Keredj, men beat a security officer dressed in the Basij uniform (a volunteer paramilitary militia, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps).
Amnesty International said Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 26 people on false charges in lawsuits aimed at intimidating citizens.
All those detained during the protests who face the death penalty have been denied the right to a defense. They were not allowed to choose lawyers. Human rights activists report that defendants are represented in court by government-appointed lawyers who do little to protect them. Since the September protests, four people have already been executed. Human rights activists have declared the crime of the Iranian regime, noting that the confessions were obtained by force.
In September 2022, protests began in Iran over the death of 22-year-old activist Mahsa Amini. On September 13, in Tehran, Amini was arrested by the vice police for allegedly violating the country's strict hijab law (the girl's hair was visible from under a headscarf). Her family was told that she would be released from the police station after a "re-education session".
Witnesses reported that Amini was beaten in the detention van, but the police denied this. Two hours elapsed between the detention and the hospital. Doctors diagnosed Amini with a stroke and a heart attack, her kidneys failed and the girl fell into a coma. Officials deny all allegations and say that the deceased simply started having heart problems.