Iran began issuing death sentences in protest of growing nationwide demonstrations. This comes as the oppressive regime attempts to restore order following nearly two months’ worth of street demonstrations.
Human rights groups warned the executions could be followed by many more.
According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, one defendant was found guilty of hitting and killing a policeman with his car. According to the agency, a second man had stabbed a security guard and three other people were found guilty of blocking traffic and setting ablaze a government building.
None of the defendants was named.
Tehran court ruled that the alleged fire-starter was guilty “enmity against God,”This week, the state news agency reported. The protestor was also convicted. “disturbing public order and peace, community, and colluding to commit a crime against national security, war and corruption on Earth, war through arson, and intentional destruction,” according to IRNA, the government-controlled news outlet.
According to Iran Human Rights, Norway-based, 20 people are currently facing death row charges. Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam exhorted countries to take immediate action. “strongly warn the Islamic Republic of the consequences of executing protesters.”
He condemned execution orders. “Protesters don’t have access to lawyers in the interrogation phase, they are subjected to physical and mental torture to give false confessions, and sentenced based on the confessions,”Amiry-Moghaddam spoke to Agence France Presse.
Protesters, many of them women, have openly rebelled against the hardline government since Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested by morality police. The 22-year-old was accused of not properly covering her head with a hijab. This mandatory head covering is required for Iranian females over 9.
Protests that broke out after Amini’s death in September saw 300 deaths. Many people were arrested. Social media was ignited by false reports that 15,000 Iranian protesters were to be executed.
Celebrities, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and news agencies reposted the incorrect claims. After word spread that they were incorrect, many were removed.
Instead, the number reflects more than 15,000 arrests that have been made since demonstrators spilled onto highways, squares and outside state offices to demand the removal of restrictive measures such as the hijab order, according to international human rights groups.
According to the organizations, more than 350 people have been killed in government crackdowns against protesters.
Tuesday was a day of closure at shops in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, as well other retail outlets around the country. Two soccer stars also announced that they won’t be attending the forthcoming event.World Cupin Qatar, where Iran will compete.
The U.S. Navy said Tuesday it seized 70 tons of missile fuel components hidden in fertilizer bags on an Iranian ship headed for Yemen, where Iranian-backed rebels have been targeting the government.
Iran also has targeted Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and other countries it accuses of fueling protests to overthrow the Islamic Republic’s theocracy.
Iran’s government has been posting photos on social media showing them opening fire on protestors. Video footage of subway passengers panicking when shots rang out on Tuesday surfaced.
City after city has seen women dancing around bonfires and burning their government-ordered headscarves. In protest against the regime which has ruled for over 40 years, students have boycotted colleges and schools.
Demonstrators have screamed and blocked cars, taking over thoroughfares. “death to the dictator”As drivers honked their horns, they were showing solidarity.
“Iranian girls and women are protesting discriminatory rules and calling for wholesale change to achieve their fundamental rights and freedoms. The Iranian authorities, and the world, should listen,”Human Rights Watch published an essay Wednesday.