Kosar Eftekhari, an Iranian student blinded by the Iranian police in Iran, participates in a rally against a death sentence given to Toomaj Salehi, a popular Iranian rapper after he was accused of singing pro-women led protests in Berlin, Germany on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Salehis lawyer confirmed the sentence and wrote on X (formerly 'Twitter') that they hope the appeal court will reduce the hefty sentence, and the harsh court ruling has inspired rallies across the different cities in the world in solidarity with Salehi. (Photo by Babak Bordbar / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)
Iran executed a man on Tuesday after the courts convicted him of killing a Revolutionary Guards officer during nationwide protests in 2022, the judiciary said.
“Gholamreza Rasaei, was executed this morning (Tuesday) in Kermanshah prison” in western Iran for “stabbing to death a Revolutionary Guards colonel during the illegal protests in November 2022,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.
The 2022 protests were sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for an alleged breach of Iran’s strict dress code for women.
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Hundreds of people were killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands more arrested over what officials labelled as foreign-instigated “riots”.
Mizan said Rasaei was sentenced to death in October 2023 in accordance with Islamic Sharia law on “retribution” and the verdict was later upheld by the Supreme Court.
His execution brings to 10 the number of people executed on charges of murder or other violence against security force personnel during the protests
Covering the neck and head has been compulsory for women in Iran since a few years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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For a while after the protests, women increasingly flouted the dress code but in recent months police have taken tougher steps against women who ignore the rules.
Iran executes more people per year than any other nation except China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.
Iran generally carries out executions by hanging.
© Agence France-Presse
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