Tehran: Iran has hanged two people accused of killing a member of the security forces during nationwide protests.
Iran on Saturday hanged two people accused of killing a member of its security forces during nationwide protests following the September 16 death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini.
The two men executed on Saturday were convicted of killing a member of the Basij paramilitary force. Three others were sentenced to death and 11 to prison in the same case.
A statement carried by the official news agency IRNA said that the principle perpetrators of the crime that led to the unjust martyrdom of Ruhollah Ajamian, Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Said Mohammad Hosseini, were hanged this morning. The latest executions bring to four the number of protesters officially known to have been killed in the unrest.
Last month, Amnesty International said Iranian authorities executed at least 26 people in what it called "fake experiments designed to intimidate protesters in the popular uprising that has rocked the country." It said all those facing the death penalty were denied the right to an adequate defense and access to lawyers of their choice. Rights groups say defendants have had to rely on government-appointed lawyers who have done little to defend them.
Amnesty said the court that convicted Karami, a 22-year-old karate champion, relied on coerced confessions. Hosseini's lawyer, Ali Sharifzade Ardakani, tweeted on December 18 that Hosseini was severely tortured and that the tortured confession had no legal basis.
He said Hosseini's hands and feet were tied and beaten, he was kicked on the head and electric shocks were inflicted on various parts of his body. Iran denies the confession was made under torture.
