A second person has been hanged in public in Iran over three months of protests that have rocked the country.
LIran on Monday publicly executed the second person convicted in connection with nearly three months of protests that have rocked the country, despite protests over the use of the death penalty against protesters.
Majidreza Rahnavard was sentenced to death by a court in Mashad (Northeastern) city for killing two members of the security forces. He was hanged in public rather than inside a prison, Mizan Online, an organization of the Judicial Commission, reported.
It was the second protest-related execution after 23-year-old Mohsen Shekhari was hanged on Thursday for attacking and wounding a paramilitary force that sparked outrage in the West.
The brave protesters did not win the game in Iran
But the September 16 death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurddin Mahza Amini, who died after being arrested by paramilitary police for defying the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code, was the first public execution amid protests.
Since its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been plagued by constant fever. But the crisis was unprecedented in its duration, spread across provinces, participation of various ethnic groups and social classes, and direct calls for an end to the regime.
Iran’s judiciary says it has so far handed down the death penalty against 11 people in what authorities described as ‘riots’, but activists say a dozen more could be sentenced to death.
“There is no due process. mock tests. This is how they want to stop the nationwide protests,” said Omit Memarian, an Iran analyst at Democracy for the Arab World (DAWN).
Rahnavard was arrested on November 19 while trying to flee the country, Mizan reported. According to unconfirmed information, he is 23 years old.
– “Call back your messengers” –
Human rights groups had already warned this weekend that many more arrested during the protests were on the brink of execution.
According to Amnesty International, 22-year-old Mahan Sadrat, who was sentenced to death on November 3 after a hasty and “unfair” trial, was transferred to Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, near Tehran, on Saturday.
He vehemently denied in court the charge of drawing a knife during the protest.
Amnesty also warned that the life of another young man, Sahand Noormohammeduzadeh, who was sentenced to death on November 6 for ‘demolishing highway rails and setting fire to dustbins and tyres’, was at risk.
Among others sentenced to the same sentence, Saman News, a rapper from Iran’s Kurdish minority, 24. On social networks, his mother pleaded for his life, saying in a video: “My son is an artist, not a rebel”.
Another rapper, Toumaj Salehi, who has voiced support for anti-regime protests, has been charged with “corruption on earth” and could face the death penalty, Iranian justice officials confirmed last month.
Last week, members of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom strongly condemned Shekari’s execution, with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach condemning it as an “unbridled disregard for human life.”
But human rights activists and NGOs have called for a stronger response, including cutting diplomatic ties with Iran and expelling ambassadors to European capitals.
“The crime of Majidreza Rahnaward protested the murder of Mahza Amini. The regime’s method of dealing with dissent is execution. “The EU is recalling your ambassadors,” called US-based dissident Masih Alinejad.
“Total coffee junkie. Tv ninja. Unapologetic problem solver. Beer expert.”