Mohsen Shekari’s uncle, convicted of “waging war on God,” says his circle of relatives has not been informed of the body’s whereabouts.
Iran has carried out the first known execution in connection with the anti-government protests that have rocked the country, postponing a man who was convicted by a revolutionary court of “making war on God. “
Mohsen Shekari was charged with blocking a street and wounding a member of the pro-regime Basij defense force on September 25, the first phase of protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
State media released a video of what they said in Shekari’s confession, which showed him with a bruise on his right cheek.
His circle of relatives waited out in the open for the criminal where he was executed, looking for news of his fate.
Shekari’s uncle, Mahmoud Shekari, told Denmark’s Guardian that the government “started a family game of torturing his family” by releasing his body, a claim that coincides with reports from other families of protesters killed.
He said the circle of relatives had been sent to two cemeteries, but when they arrived at the scene, they were told the frame was not there.
The uncle said Shekari’s mother continually warned against making her son’s arrest public, and that even when she saw her son the day before he was hanged, she ordered silence about his fate.
Shekari was allowed to have a lawyer of his choice and symptoms of torture were visible on his face, his uncle said.
Describing the incident that led to his arrest, the uncle said, “Mohsen athletic and strong; When he saw security forces attacking protesters, he got rid of the railing on the side of the road and placed it in the middle of the street to block the passage of security forces.
Shekari worked in a café and was the family’s top employee, Mahmoud said.
Iran’s court-run Mizan news firm said Shekari was convicted through Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, which regularly keeps cases behind closed doors, on Nov. 1.
The court found that he had used a weapon “with the intent to kill, sow terror and disturb order and security of society. “He appealed the verdict, but the Supreme Court upheld it on November 20.
Human rights teams said Shekari was tortured and forced to confess. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, head of Iran’s Oslo-based human rights group, called for a strong foreign response, “otherwise we will face daily executions of protesters. “
He tweeted that Shekari had been “sentenced to death in exhibition trials without due process” and said, “This execution will have to have swift practical consequences abroad. “
In one of the first foreign reactions, Austria’s Foreign Ministry said the execution was “disproportionate and inhumane” and suggested the Iranian government “stop all other executions” related to the protests.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he was “outraged” by news of the execution, while German Foreign Secretary Annalena Baerbock said “the inhumanity of the Iranian regime knows no bounds. “
“Mohsen Shekari was convicted and executed in treacherous abstract proceedings because he disagreed with the regime,” Baerbock said. “But the risk of execution will not stifle people’s preference for freedom. “
As many as 21 others have been charged with sentences that could result in the death penalty.
On Monday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the armed forces, praised the judiciary for its business stance and suggested it act and hand down decisive sentences for those accused of “crimes against the security of the country and Islam. “
Five more people were sentenced to death on Tuesday for the killing of a Basij member, drawing condemnation from Amnesty International, which said in a statement: “The Iranian government will have to quash without delay all death sentences, chorus of calling for the imposition of the death penalty, and drop all charges against those detained in relation to their non-violent participation in the protests. “
Interviewed in the reformist newspaper Etemad, Taghi Azadarmaki, a sociology professor, said: “If the formula punishes protesters, other people’s habit will be radicalized and their patience will run out. This trend continues, other people will have a tendency towards fundamentalist changes.
In order to interact with academics, who have been at the center of the protests, senior politicians visited the campus of Tehran University on the annual Student Day this week in an attempt to start a dialogue. However, Tehran’s mayor clashed through academics who accused the regime of corruption and lies. He shouted angrily at them when an organization came out to demand the release of his comrades.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, also an intransigent, arrived to face an almost all-male audience at a high-security event at the university. He claimed that the protests had nothing to do with economic or cultural grievances, but that they were a U. S. plot. Iran.