In Iran, two men have been hanged for allegedly killing a soldier during nationwide protests. Mohammad Mahdi Karami and his Seyed Mohammad Hosseini have been found guilty of “corruption on the ground” for their involvement in the death of a militia officer. Human rights groups have condemned what they called a “fake trial.” Karami’s family, 22, said they were not allowed to see him before he was murdered. Prosecutors claimed that paramilitary officer Ruhollah Ajamian was stripped naked and murdered by a group of mourners paying tribute to the recently killed protesters.
Protests against Iran’s clerical organization erupted in September after the death in custody of a woman arrested by a deputy for allegedly wearing a hijab or headscarf “inappropriately”.So far, at least 516 of her protesters, including 70 of her children, have been killed and 19,262 arrested, according to the overseas-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). It also reports the deaths of 68 security guards. Many of those detained after the protests have reportedly been subjected to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, torture, and other ill-treatment. Iranian officials have called the protests “riots” and accused foreign forces of instigating them.
The man received his first death sentence in December 2022 but appealed the sentence after claiming he was tortured to force him to make a false confession. Hosseini’s lawyers said he was beaten and blindfolded in prison.”He was verbally abused and beaten on the soles of his feet with metal rods,” Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani said. Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the ruling on January 3. In December, the 23-year-old Majidreza Rahnavard was publicly hanged from a crane for killing two security guards with a knife and wounding four others. Roads were blocked and a member of Iran’s Basij army was wounded with a knife.
