Iran hanged two men on Saturday (January 7) for allegedly killing a member of the security forces during nationwide protests that stemmed from the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September.
Video that aired on Iranian State Television Saturday showed two defendants, identified as Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, testifying in court on an unspecified date in December 2022.
Both were convicted of killing Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the Basij paramilitary force militia.
Three others have been sentenced to death in the same case, while 11 received prison sentences.
Amnesty International said that the court that convicted Karami relied on forced confessions… and Hosseini’s lawyer said in a tweet in December that Hosseini had been severely tortured.
Iran denies that confessions are extracted under torture.
The executions of Karami and Hosseini brings to four the number of protesters officially known to have been executed in the aftermath of the unrest.
Amnesty has said Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 26 others.
The news of the executions brought condemnation from the European Union, the US and others… with British foreign minister James Cleverly calling on Iran to "immediately end the violence against its own people."