Dubai, United Arab Emirates –
Iran said it executed two men on Saturday convicted of allegedly killing a paramilitary volunteer during a demonstration, the latest executions aimed at stemming nationwide protests now challenging the country’s theocracy.
Iranian justice identified those executed as Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini, making four men known to have been executed since demonstrations began in September over the death of Mahsa Amini. All face internationally-criticized, speedy, closed-door trials.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency said the men were convicted of killing Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the Basij volunteer force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, in the town of Karaj outside Tehran on November 3. The Basij have deployed in major cities, attacking and arresting protesters, who in many cases have fought back.
Heavily edited footage aired on state television showed Karami speaking to the Revolutionary Court about the attack, which also showed a re-enactment of the attack, prosecutors said. Iran’s revolutionary courts issued the other two death sentences that have already been carried out.
The tribunals do not allow litigants to choose their own lawyers or even to see the evidence against them. Amnesty International said the trials “do not resemble a meaningful judicial proceeding”.
State television also aired footage of Karami and Hosseini talking about the attack, although the broadcaster has for years aired what activists describe as coerced confessions.
The men were convicted of the murder, as well as of “corrupting the Earth,” a Koranic term and charge that has been levied against others in the decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and carries the death penalty.
Activists say at least 16 people have been sentenced to death behind closed doors on charges related to the protests. Death sentences in Iran are usually carried out by hanging.
At least 517 protesters have been killed and more than 19,200 people have been arrested, according to Iran Human Rights Activists, a group that has been closely monitoring the unrest. Iranian authorities have not provided an official number of those killed or detained.
The protests began in mid-September when Amini, 22, died after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. Women played a leading role in the protests, with many publicly removing the obligatory Islamic headscarves, known as the hijab.
The protests mark one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 1979 revolution. Security forces have used live ammunition, birdshot, tear gas and batons to disperse protesters, according to rights groups.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed a new hardline police chief, the official IRNA news agency reported. Gen. Ahmad Reza Radan replaced outgoing General Hossein Ashtari after Ashtari’s eight-year term expired.
Radan, who was acting police chief from 2008-2014, is known for his harsh treatment of protesters during post-election unrest in 2009. He also cracked down on women wearing loose Islamic veils and young men with long hair.
The US and Europe imposed sanctions on Radan for human rights abuses in 2009 and 2010.
Since 2014, he has been leading a police research center.
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