Iran hands death sentences to three more protestors as criticism mounts

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three more protestors were sentenced to death in Iran on Monday on charges of “waging war against God,” the judiciary reported, as criticism over the regime’s executions and no remorse on protestors attracts further condemnations.

Iran sentenced to death Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi for “moharabeh,” or “waging war against God,” after they were found guilty of killing and injuring members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Basij paramilitary force during antigovernment protests in the central province of Isfahan, the judiciary’s Mizan Online said.

The latest sentences rise Iran’s protestor death sentences to 17 and come two days after the Islamic republic executed two men on similar charges of being involved in the killing of a Basij member, which doubled Iran’s executions over the protest movement to four.

The three convicts were also found guilty of “forming and managing a criminal group with the intention of disrupting the security of the country and society,” Mizan stated, adding that the charges warrant a ten-year prison sentence.

Iran has been rocked by nearly four months of nationwide antigovernment protests that stemmed from the death of young Kurdish woman Zhina (Mahsa) Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code.

Fierce condemnations from the United States and European Union struck Iran following the Saturday executions, as the questionable trials behind the death sentences were strongly condemned and labeled as a crucial part of the regime’s ongoing efforts to suppress demonstrations.

IRGC-affiliated media on Monday reported that Iranian professional footballer Amir Reza Nasr Azadani was charged by an Isfahan for allegedly planning to disrupt the country’s security and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Azadani was also accused of being involved in the deaths of the three security personnel in Isfahan as well as for being involved with the protest movement.

Mizan also said that the rulings are “preliminary and can be appealed in the supreme court.”

Iranian opposition Telegram channels published videos in the cities of Tehran, Arak, and Karaj - where the executions were carried out - of people taking to the streets and chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to protest the executions after the news broke out.

On December 8, Iran carried out the first official protest-linked execution, hanging 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari after similarly being accused of wounding a member of the Basij.

At least 519 protesters, including 70 children, have been killed and over 19,000 have been arrested since the protests began almost four months ago, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) on Sunday.

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