Iran said it executed two men Saturday convicted of allegedly killing a paramilitary volunteer during an illustration, the most recent executions geared toward halting the nationwide protests now difficult the country’s theocracy.
Iran’s judiciary identified those executed as Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini, making it 4 men known to have been executed for the reason that demonstrations began in September over the death of Mahsa Amini. All have faced internationally criticized, rapid, closed-door trials.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency said the boys had been convicted of killing Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s volunteer Basij Force, in town of Karaj outside of Tehran on Nov. 3. The Basij have deployed in major cities, attacking and detaining protesters, who in lots of cases have fought back.
Heavily edited footage aired on state television showed Karami speaking before a Revolutionary Court concerning the attack, which also showed a reenactment of the attack in response to prosecutors’ claims. Iran’s Revolutionary Courts handed down the 2 other death sentences already carried out.
The tribunals don’t allow those on trial to select their very own lawyers and even see the evidence against them. Amnesty International has said the trials “bore no resemblance to a meaningful judicial proceeding.”
State TV also aired footage of Karami and Hosseini talking concerning the attack, though the broadcaster for years has aired what activists describe as coerced confessions.
The lads were convicted of the killing, in addition to “corruption on Earth,” a Quranic term and charge that has been levied against others within the a long time for the reason that 1979 Islamic Revolution and carries the death penalty.
Activists say at the very least 16 people have been sentenced to death in closed-door hearings over charges linked to the protests. Death sentences in Iran are typically carried out by hanging.
A minimum of 517 protesters have been killed and over 19,200 people have been arrested, in response to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a gaggle that has closely monitored the unrest. Iranian authorities haven’t provided an official count of those killed or detained.
The protests began in mid-September, when 22-year-old Amini died after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. Women have played a number one role within the protests, with many publicly stripping off the compulsory Islamic headscarf, generally known as the hijab.
The protests mark one among the largest challenges to Iran’s theocracy for the reason that 1979 revolution. Security forces have used live ammunition, bird shot, tear gas and batons to disperse protesters, in response to rights groups.