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Iran today executed two men convicted of killing a paramilitary volunteer during an anti-regime demonstration.
The Mizan state news agency relationships that the men were convicted of murder. The volunteer, a member of the Basij, part of the Revolutionary Guards, was killed on November 3 in the city of Karaj, 20 kilometers west of Tehran. It’s unclear what exactly happened.
With the carrying out of the death sentences of the two, there are now four executions announced by the regime in response to the demonstrations that began in September, reports the AP news agency. This has always preceded speedy closed-door trials, which have been criticized internationally.
Three others were sentenced to death in the same case and 11 other protesters were sentenced to prison. Late last year, the human rights organization reported Iran Human Rights that at least 100 protesters are at risk of execution, the death penalty or prison sentence.
Over 500 dead
Protesters on trial cannot choose their own lawyers or see the evidence presented against them.
State television also broadcast footage of the two men discussing the attack on member Basij. Activists describe these images as coerced confessions. The men were convicted of the murder and of “corruption on earth,” a Qur’anic term and a charge punishable by death.
Death sentences in Iran are usually carried out by hanging. The protests have killed at least 517 protesters and arrested more than 19,200 people, Iranian human rights organizations say.
Violation of the dress code
Iranian authorities have not provided an official body count of the dead or prisoners. The protests began in mid-September, when 22-year-old Amini died after being arrested by the Iranian Morale Police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
