Two anti-regime protesters in Iran were hanged Saturday in the country’s latest show of force against demonstrators.
Mohammad Mehdi Karami, a 21-year-old national karate champion, and Mohammad Hosseini, 20, had been convicted in show trials of killing a volunteer member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Their trials “bore no resemblance to a meaningful judicial proceeding,” Amnesty International said.
Iran has now executed four people in connection with the nationwide protests that began in response to the Sept. 16 death of Mahsa Amini. At least 500 more protesters have also been killed, according to human rights groups.
Authorities have used live bullets, in addition to non-lethal weapons, when attempting to quell the protests. The demonstrations erupted after Amini, 22, died in police custody following her arrest.
She was arrested after she allegedly violated the country’s strict hijab laws. Women are required to wear hijabs in public in Iran.
On Nov. 3, Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s volunteer Basij force, died in the Tehran suburb of Karaj. Police claimed that Karami and Hosseini killed him.
The two men were convicted in closed-door trials in which they couldn’t choose their attorneys or view the evidence against them. The trials lasted less than a week.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Twitter that the pair were “hanged by the regime in Iran because they didn’t want to submit to its brutal and inhuman actions.”
“Two further terrible fates that encourage us to increase the pressure on Tehran through the EU,” Baerbock wrote.
The first protest-related execution was carried out on Dec. 8, when Mohsen Shekari was hanged. Shekari was accused of attacking a police officer. Four days later, Majidreza Rahnavard was executed after he was accused of fatally stabbing two members of the Basij.
All four sham convictions included forced confessions, which were aired on Iranian state TV. As many as 41 more death sentences have been handed down in recent weeks, according to Iranian media.
Prominent Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti was arrested for expressing support for Shekari on social media. She was released from custody on Wednesday.
Alidoosti is one of several prominent Iranians who have been arrested in connection with the protests.
With News Wire Services
Original News : https://news.yahoo.com/iran-executes-2-men-latest-212600055.html
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