Iran faces condemnation, more protests after execution

Iran faced international condemnation Friday after carrying out its first known execution over protests that have shaken the regime for nearly three months, leading to calls for even more demonstrations.

Protests have swept Iran since the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who died in mid-September after her arrest for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women.

Mohsen Shekari was hanged Thursday after being convicted for blocking a Tehran street and wounding a paramilitary on September 25, after a legal process that rights groups denounced as a show trial.

The judiciary said the 23-year-old was arrested after striking a member of the Basij, a paramilitary force linked to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with a machete, a wound that required 13 stitches.

He was convicted last month of "moharebeh", or "enmity against God" -- a capital offence in the Islamic republic.

The announcement sparked an international outcry and warnings from human rights groups that more hangings were imminent.

Amnesty International said it was "horrified" by the execution, which followed Shekari's condemnation in a "grossly unfair sham trial".

Shekari's body was buried 24 hours after his execution in the presence of a few family members and security forces in Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, the 1500tasvir social media monitor reported.

His execution has triggered fresh protests and calls for more demonstrations.

 

 

 

AFP