Iran hangs 2 males accused of killing safety agent throughout anti-govt protests

Two males have been hanged to dying by the Iranian authority on Saturday for allegedly killing a member of the safety forces throughout protests that have been triggered after the dying of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian girl Mahsa Amini.

The two males executed on Saturday had been convicted of killing a member of the Basij paramilitary pressure militia. (Photo: Reuters)

By Reuters:

Iran hanged two males on Saturday for allegedly killing a member of the safety forces throughout nationwide protests that adopted the dying of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian girl Mahsa Amini on September 16, drawing condemnation from the EU, the United States and different Western nations.

The two males executed on Saturday had been convicted of killing a member of the Basij paramilitary pressure militia. Three others have been sentenced to dying in the identical case, whereas 11 obtained jail sentences.

“Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, principle perpetrators of the crime that led to the unjust martyrdom of Ruhollah Ajamian were hanged this morning,” the judiciary mentioned in an announcement carried by the official IRNA information company.

The newest executions carry to 4 the variety of protesters formally recognized to have been executed within the aftermath of the unrest.

The European Union’s prime diplomat on Saturday condemned the executions and known as on Iran to instantly cease finishing up dying sentences towards protestors, and annul present sentences.

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“This is yet another sign of the Iranian authorities’ violent repression of civilian demonstrations,” Josep Borrell mentioned in an announcement.

The U.S. particular envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, additionally condemned the executions, saying they adopted “sham trials.” “These executions must stop,” Malley mentioned on Twitter.

British Foreign Minister James Cleverly on Saturday condemned the executions and urged Iran to “immediately end the violence against its own people.”

The French overseas ministry known as the executions “revolting” and urged Iranian authorities to heed the “legitimate aspirations of the Iranian people.”

The Dutch authorities mentioned it could summon Iran’s ambassador to the Netherlands for the second time in a month to boost its considerations over the execution of demonstrators, and urged different EU international locations to do the identical.

Amnesty International mentioned final month that Iranian authorities are in search of the dying penalty for not less than 26 others in what it known as “sham trials designed to intimidate protesters”.

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It mentioned all of these going through dying sentences had been denied the correct to ample defence and entry to attorneys of their selecting. Rights teams say defendants have as a substitute needed to depend on state-appointed attorneys who do little to defend them.

Amnesty mentioned the courtroom that convicted Karami, a 22-year-old karate champion, relied on compelled confessions.

Hosseini’s lawyer Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani mentioned in a Dec. 18 tweet that Hosseini had been severely tortured and that confessions extracted below torture had no authorized foundation.

He mentioned Hosseini was overwhelmed along with his palms and ft tied up, kicked within the head till he handed out, and subjected to electrical shocks on totally different elements of his physique.

Iran denies that confessions are extracted below torture.

NEW POLICE COMMANDER

Mahsa Amini died in custody in September after being arrested by morality police implementing the Islamic Republic’s obligatory costume code legal guidelines. The protests that ensued symbolize one of many greatest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its institution in 1979.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday named hardline police official Ahmad Reza Radan as the brand new nationwide police commander, state media reported.

Radan, who was positioned below U.S. sanctions in 2010 for human rights violations, has ceaselessly known as for strict enforcement of the nation’s Islamic costume code for girls throughout his earlier police positions.

The Basij pressure, affiliated with Iran’s highly effective Revolutionary Guards, has been behind a lot of the crackdown towards protesters.

Iran, which has blamed the unrest on its overseas foes together with the United States, sees its crackdown of protests as preserving nationwide sovereignty.

The rights group HRANA mentioned that as of Friday, 517 protesters had been killed throughout unrest, together with 70 minors. It mentioned 68 members of the safety forces had additionally been killed.

As many as 19,262 protesters are believed to have been arrested, it mentioned.

Iranian officers have mentioned that as much as 300 folks, together with members of the safety forces, have died.

The first protester recognized to be executed was 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari on Dec. 8, lower than three months after his arrest. He was accused of burning a trash bin, blocking a highway, stabbing a member of the Basij militia with a machete and threatening public security.

Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged from a crane in public on Dec. 12 within the northeastern metropolis of Mashhad, lower than a month after his arrest. He was accused of stabbing to dying two Basij members and wounding 4 different folks in Mashhad.

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Published On:

Jan 8, 2023