Iran To Execute 3 More Protesters For 'Waging War On God' Amid International Criticism

Iran has sentenced three more anti-government protesters to death on charges of "waging war on God". This comes amid growing international criticism over its fierce crackdown on demonstrators.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Source : AFP

New Delhi: Iran has sentenced three more anti-government protesters to death on charges of "waging war on God", Reuters reported citing Mizan news agency on Monday. This comes amid growing international criticism over its fierce crackdown on demonstrators. Iran hanged two other men on Saturday, one of them a karate champion with several national titles, in its attempts to stamp out demonstrations, which have slowed considerably since it began carrying out executions within weeks of arrests, Reuters reported.

According to Mizan, Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi, and Saeid Yaghoubi, who had been convicted of allegedly killing members of the volunteer Basij militia during anti-government protests in the central city of Isfahan, could possibly appeal against their verdicts. The Basij forces, affiliated with the elite Revolutionary Guards, have been at the forefront of the state clampdown on the unrest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police on Sept. 16.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday signalled the state has no intention of softening its position, saying in a televised speech that those who "set fire to public places have committed treason with no doubt". Under Iran's Islamic law, treason is punishable by death, as reported by Reuters. Pope Francis on Monday condemned Iran for using the death penalty on demonstrators demanding greater respect for women.

Protesters have gathered outside a prison near the Iranian capital in an attempt to prevent the rumoured imminent execution of two young detainees found guilty of running over a police officer in a car during protests in November, as reported by The Guardian.

According to the footage posted on social media, the mother of one of the men, 22-year-old Mohammad Ghobadlou, pleading for her son outside Rajaei-Shahr prison in Karaj, a satellite city west of Tehran. She said it had been established that her son had not been at the scene when the police officer died.

Human rights activists had raised the alarm after Ghobadlou and fellow prisoner Mohammad Boroughani were taken to solitary confinement, which is often a preliminary step before execution. Their lawyers are claiming the two men require a retrial in the supreme court.

Four people have been executed so far in relation to the protest movement that has swept Iran since the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September. Some warnings of imminent executions have proved false, possibly because protests around specific prisoners have unnerved the authorities.

(With agencies’ Inputs)