Iran sentences three more protesters to death amid international criticism

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An Iranian judiciary has sentenced three other anti-government protesters to death accused of “waging war on God”, its Mizan news agency reported on Monday, defying growing international criticism of its fierce crackdown on protesters.

Iran hanged two more men, including a karate champion with multiple national titles, on Saturday in its attempts to crush protests, which have slowed considerably since it began carrying out executions weeks after the arrests.

Mizan said Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeid Yaghoubi, who were found guilty of killing members of the Basij volunteer militia during anti-government protests in the central city of Isfahan, could appeal their verdicts.

Basij forces, affiliated with the elite Revolutionary Guards, have been at the forefront of the state crackdown on the unrest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody by the Iranian vice squad on September 16.

Pope Francis on Monday condemned Iran for using the death penalty against protesters demanding greater respect for women.

“The right to life is also under threat in places where the death penalty continues to be imposed, as is the case these days in Iran, following recent demonstrations calling for greater respect for the dignity of women. “, Francis said.

One of the boldest challenges to religious leaders since the 1979 revolution, the protests drew support from Iranians from all walks of life and challenged the legitimacy of the Islamic Republic by calling for the downfall of its leaders.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei signaled on Monday that the state has no intention of softening its stance, saying in a televised address that those who “burned down public places have undoubtedly committed a betrayal “. Under Iranian Islamic law, treason is punishable by death.

Rights activists view the executions, arrests and harsh punishments of protesters by the clerical establishment as an attempt to intimidate protesters and strike fear into the population enough to end the unrest.

Although the establishment is stepping up its crackdown, small-scale protests persist in Tehran, Isfahan and several other cities.

At least four people have been hanged since the start of the protests, according to justice, including two protesters on Saturday for allegedly killing a Basij member.

Amnesty International said last month that Iranian authorities were seeking the death penalty for at least 26 other people in what it called “sham trials intended to intimidate protesters”.

Human rights activists on social media said two other protesters, Mohammad Ghobadlou, 22, and Mohammad Boroughani, 18, had been moved to solitary confinement ahead of their execution in the city’s Rajai Shahr prison from Karaj.

Social media videos, unverifiable by Reuters, showed people gathered outside the prison on Sunday night chanting slogans against Khamenei.

The European Union, the United States and other Western countries have condemned Iran for using the death penalty against protesters.

Condemning Iran’s latest execution of protesters, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that “a regime that murders its own youth to intimidate its people has no future”. The Islamic Republic, which has blamed the unrest on foreign enemies including the United States, sees its crackdown on protests as a preservation of national sovereignty.

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