In Iran, two new executions in connection with the demonstrations

Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, two men accused of killing a paramilitary during protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, were executed Saturday, January 7, in Iran. “The main perpetrators of the crime that led to the martyrdom of Ruhollah Ajamian were hanged this morning”announced Mizan, the press agency of the judiciary, in reference to a member of the bassidjithe Islamic militias linked to the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of Iran.

Five people had been sentenced to death at first instance for the murder during demonstrations on November 3 in Karaj, west of Tehran, of this member of the bassidji. After review, the Supreme Court has “confirmed the sentences of convicts Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini”, according to a court statement Tuesday. those of“Hamid Ghare-Hasanlou, Hossein Mohammadi and Reza Aria were canceled for procedural flaws” and one “new trial” was ordered.

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Several months of revolt

Protests that erupted in mid-September following the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini reflect widespread anger over economic hardship and social restrictions, analysts say. Since its beginnings in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been regularly rocked by protests. But this movement is unprecedented in its duration and the extent of the protest in all the provinces of the country, the participation of different ethnic groups and social classes and the direct calls for the end of the regime.

Portraits of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were burned, women openly marched through the streets without headscarves and demonstrators defied security forces. Iranian authorities accuse hostile foreign powers of stoking “riots”in particular the United States, sworn enemy of Tehran, but also other Western nations such as the United Kingdom or France, as well as opposition groups in exile.

Since the beginning of the protest movement, justice has sentenced fourteen people to death in connection with the demonstrations, according to an AFP count based on official information. Among them, four have been executed, two have had their sentences confirmed by the Supreme Court, six are awaiting new trials and two others can appeal.

Activists say a dozen other people face charges that carry the death penalty.

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The World with AFP

source site-29