Iran: Denounces the first execution of a person sentenced to death for participating in protests

Iranian authorities reported on Thursday that the first execution of a prisoner sentenced to death for participating in the protests that have rocked the country since mid-September.

This is Mohsen Shekari, 23, executed early this morning after being sentenced to death on November 29 for “wounding a basiji (Islamic paramilitary) with a knife.blocking a road and creating terror in Tehran,” according to the Mizan Judiciary Agency.

During the trial, the accused assured that he received money in exchange for confronting the security officers and that is why he attacked one of them with a machete, which required 13 stitches in the shoulder wound.

“We were patrolling the area when we see two tall men blocking a road. One of them was holding a knife and yelling for people to join them. I got off my bike and walked towards him. That’s when he attacked me.” , he rebuilt. the victim.

For his part, one of the witnesses of the event said: “people were very scared. About 150 cars were stuck in traffic, no cars were allowed to pass. The defendant was in the street and, while he was holding a machete, he did not let anyone pass in that place.”

Tension and protests in Iran

Shekari is the first protester to be executed for his involvement in the protests which have shaken Iran since mid-September, when the death of Mahsa Amini occurred, arrested by the Morality Police for wearing the Islamic veil incorrectly.

Claims have evolved and now Protesters are calling for the end of the Islamic Republic founded by Ayatollah Ruholá Khomeini in 1979. In nearly three months, more than 400 people have died and at least 15,000 have been arrested, according to the NGO Iran Human Rights.

So far, the judicial authorities 11 people were sentenced to death for their participation in the demonstrations and a much greater and indeterminate one to several prison sentences.

For its part, Amnesty International has denounced that at least 28 of the 2,000 accused for the protests risk the death sentence.

Iran has announced the end of the moral police: the opposition doubts and calls for new marches

Last weekend’s announcement by Iran’s attorney general on the disbandment of the morality police following massive protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini was met with skepticism from opponents and human rights activists, who They asked to continue protesting with strikes and mobilizations in the coming days.

“Unity is one of the factors for victory,” the Tehran neighborhood youth collective said on social media when they called for mobilizations for the next three days: a stop by this mondaya demonstration in the neighborhoods on Tuesday and a meeting in the central Azadi (freedom) square on Wednesday.

Doubts around the veracity of the dissolution of the controversial police moralism is due to the fact that the announcement has not yet been confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior nor has it been broadcast by the state broadcaster.

With information from EFE.

IT​