An Iranian court has handed down the first death sentence to a user accused of participating in the street protests rocking the country since the death in police custody of a young woman accused of not wearing the hijab properly.
The alleged protester, whose appeal has not been made public, accused of “hostile enmity opposed to God,” the BBC reported, and accused of setting fire to a government building. At least 20 others are also under threat of execution, the outlet said, raising Iranian human rights activists.
Thousands of others have been detained across Iran since mid-September, when mass protests began following the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody. Amini has been accused of not wearing the hijab properly, as required by the Iranian government’s austere interpretation of Islamic law.
Others facing the death penalty include a rapper, Toomaj Salehi, who recorded music at the protests, and two journalists, Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, the Washington Post reported.
Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based activist group, on Monday accused the Islamic Republic of “using the death penalty to create concern in society. “The Iranian government accuses protesters of engaging in “riots” fomented through Western governments.
Thousands of others have been detained since the protests began, many of whom face charges under separate “national security” laws, Human Rights Watch said.
“Iran’s vicious security apparatus uses everything in its book, adding deadly force against protesters, arresting and smearing human rights defenders and journalists, and mock trials to stifle widespread dissent,” he said in a statement. HRW researcher Tara Sepehri Far said.
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