PARIS: Iran carried out its first known execution on Thursday over the protests that have shaken the regime since September, sparking an international outcry and warnings from rights groups that more hangings are imminent.

Mohsen Shekari, 23, had been convicted and sentenced to death for blocking a street and wounding a paramilitary during the early phase of the protests, after a legal process deno­unced as a show trial by rights groups.

At least a dozen other people are currently at risk of execution after being sentenced to hang over the protests in recent weeks, human rights groups warned.“Mohsen Shekari, a rioter who blocked Sattar Khan Street in Tehran on Sept 25 and wounded one of the security guards with a machete, was executed this morning,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

Amnesty International said it was “horrified” by the execution, which came just three weeks after Shekari was condemned in a “grossly unfair sham trial”.

“His execution exposes the inhumanity of Iran’s so-called justice system as dozens of others face the same fate,” it added.Iran’s Fars news agency carried a video report of Shekari talking about the attack while in detention, which IHR described as a “forced confession” with his face “visibly injured”.

Shiraz attackers face hanging

Iran’s judiciary said on Thursday five people faced the death penalty over an October attack that killed at least 13 people at a shrine in the southern city of Shiraz.

The five were charged with “corruption on earth”, a capital offence in Iran, for the attack on the Shah Cheragh mausoleum on Oct 26, said the judiciary’s Mizan Online website.

Kazem Moussavi, the judiciary chief in Shiraz’s Fars province, said the case was expedited “in the shortest possible time”, according to Mizan. The accused were also charged with membership of the militant Islamic State group and “conspiracy against the security of the country”, Moussavi said. If found guilty the defendants could appeal to Iran’s supreme court, he added.

One of the attack perpetrators, identified by media in Iran as Hamed Badakhshan, died of injuries sustained during his arrest, according to authorities. The Islamic republic last month said 26 “takfiri terrorists” from Afgh­anistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan had been arrested in connection to the attack.

‘Boundless contempt’

Western governments echoed the anger of the rights groups. “The Iran­ian regime’s contempt for human life is boundless,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock twee­ted, describing the legal process as a “perfidious summary trial”.

But she added: “The threat of execution will not suffocate the will for freedom.” “This execution comes on top of other serious and unacceptable violations,” said French foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said he was “outraged” and added: “The world cannot turn a blind eye to the abhorrent violence committed by the Iranian regime against its own people.”

‘Imminent danger’

The largely peaceful protest movement has been marked by actions included removing and burning headscarves in the streets, chanting anti-government slogans and confronting the security forces.

In a relatively new tactic, protest supporters staged three days of nationwide strikes up to Wed­nesday which closed down shops in several major cities including Tehran, according to rights groups.

The security forces have responded with a crackdown that has killed at least 458 people, including 63 children, according to an updated death toll issued by IHR on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2022