TEHRAN, 12 Dec 2022:
Iran today executed a second person linked to its nationwide anti-government protests, despite international criticism following its first hanging last week.
Majid Reza Rahnavard was publicly hanged in the holy city of Mashhad after he was sentenced to death for killing two members of the security forces, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.
He was convicted of “waging war against God,” Mizan reported, adding that he also injured four other people.
At least nine other prisoners have been sentenced to death in connection with the protests and, according to Amnesty International, at least 28 defendants – including three children – could face execution.
Rahnavard’s execution comes four days after the first hanging of a prisoner linked to the protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in custody in mid-September after she was detained for not wearing her hijab properly.
Mohsen Shekari, 23, was executed last Thursday for blocking a street and wounding a security officer in capital Tehran.
That execution sparked international condemnation, especially from Western countries, which have called on Iran to end the hangings.
The EU plans to give the green light later today to new sanctions against Iranian perpetrators of human rights violations after condemning the execution of Shekari last week.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Friday that Iran’s use of the death penalty was “clearly designed to send a chilling effect to the rest of the protesters.”
Despite this, the execution provoked new protests in the country. On Saturday, silent candlelit marches were held across the country.
In the three months of protests, more than 400 people have died and at least 15,000 have been detained, according to the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights.
Iran has one of the highest execution rates with the world, with 314 carried out in 2021, according to Amnesty International.
– EFE