The judiciary in Iran has sentenced to death three people accused of killing three members of the security forces during the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
Since the death on September 16 of Kurdish Iranian Amini, 22, following her arrest for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women, the Islamic Republic has been rocked by civil unrest.
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The latest sentences, which can still be appealed, bring the total number of people sentenced to death in connection with the protests to 17. Four of those convicted have been executed, and two others are on death row after the country’s supreme court upheld their sentences.
Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi were sentenced to death under Iran’s Islamic sharia law for “moharebeh,” or “waging war against God,” according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website.
Furthermore, they were all found guilty of belonging to a “criminal group with the intent of disrupting the country’s security,” a charge that carries a 10-year prison sentence.
Two others were sentenced to prison for the November 16 incident that resulted in the deaths of three security force members in the central province of Isfahan, according to Mizan.
One of them is a professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani, 26, who received sentences totalling 26 years in prison on three different charges including assisting in “moharebeh”. However, according to Iranian law, he must serve them concurrently, which means he will be imprisoned for 16 years.
Nasr-case Azadani and the possibility of him being sentenced to death had sparked concern around the world, particularly among members of FIFPRO, the world union of professional footballers.
According to Mizan, all of the announced sentences can be appealed to the country’s supreme court. Mizan published videos of the court sessions, as well as CCTV images purportedly showing the crimes being committed and the confessions of the accused.
Iranian authorities say hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed and thousands arrested during the protests which they have generally labelled “riots”.
Tehran blames hostile foreign countries and opposition groups for fomenting unrest. Iran executed Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini on Saturday for the November killing of a paramilitary force member in Karaj, west of Tehran.
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Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard, two other men, were executed in December after being convicted of separate attacks on security forces. The executions sparked international outrage and new Western sanctions against Iran.
According to the London-based rights organization Amnesty International, Iran’s use of the death penalty is second only to China’s, with at least 314 people executed in 2021.
