TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has announced the first publicly known execution of a man convicted of a crime stemming from ongoing protests in the country.
The man who was executed was identified as Mohsen Shekhali on Thursday by the Iranian Justice’s official news site. He was convicted of “waging war against God” for stabbing a security guard and blocking a street in Tehran. In a show of speed with which Iranian authorities have vowed to pursue cases related to the “riots,” judicial officials said a little more than a month passed between the man’s initial hearing and his execution.
Shekhali, 23, was arrested on September 25, just a week after protests erupted across Iran following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mercer Amini. women’s dress code. Shekari was given a provisional death sentence on November 20 and executed Thursday morning shortly after it was upheld by the country’s Supreme Court.
According to a confession released by the judiciary, Shekhali was armed with a long knife and was accompanied by an associate identified as “Ali” who had provided him with “significant money to participate in the riot.”
Shekari reportedly struck a guard in the shoulder blade, injuring him after helping cordon off a street in central Tehran’s busy He Sattarkhan district. Among his accusations was “creating fear and terror and depriving people of their freedom and security.”
Amnesty International warned earlier this month that at least 28 people could be executed in Iran in connection with the protests, saying “authorities are using the death penalty as a means of political repression to end the uprising.” There are,” he said. Attorney General Gorham Hossein Mohseni Ejay said earlier this week that “some” of the previous death sentences for “corruption on earth” and “waging war against God” linked to the protests were upheld by the Supreme Court, “It will be executed,” he said. I’ll be out soon.”
The first publicly announced death sentences in connection with the protests were handed down on November 14, and the latest sentences were handed down on Tuesday when five people were sentenced to death for the killing of members of the militia’s Bajizi unit. Declared.
Another 11 of him, including three minors, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in the incident. Earlier this week, Iran executed four people accused of colluding with Israeli intelligence services and imprisoned three others in incidents apparently unrelated to the protests.
UN human rights experts have called on Iran to halt executions of prisoners linked to the protests, but Iranian officials say they must protect the country from attacks by foreign forces, particularly the United States, which they accuse. is doing. anxiety.
The UN Human Rights Council voted last month to set up a fact-finding mission to investigate Iran’s response to the protests, but Tehran said it would not cooperate with the mission because of its “political” nature. Stated. Tehran also condemned the December 14 vote to exclude Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Thursday’s executions followed three days of protests and strikes that ended Wednesday after an anonymous internet call.
A video published online showed protests in Tehran and many other cities on Wednesday night. Images of stores closed during the strike were overruled by videos released by state media showing other stores open.
