Iran conducts first known execution linked to protests

The Iranian government hanged Mohsen Shekari on Thursday for allegedly attacking a paramilitary officer with a machete during a protest in September, according to Mizan Online, a news agency associated with Iran’s judiciary. In a closed-door trial, he was convicted of “waging war against God” and blocking a street during a protest, the government said. This is the first known execution of someone associated with the protests against the September death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody. Iran’s morality police detained her for allegedly wearing her headscarf incorrectly. Protesters say police beat her to death, but the government says she died of a heart attack. 

 Will there be more executions? The human rights group Amnesty International reported that as of Dec. 2, at least 28 people, including three children, could face execution in connection with the protests. Iran has already sentenced at least six people to death in “sham” trials, according to Amnesty International. At least 458 people have died since the protests started, according to Norway-based Iran Human Rights. That group puts the number of people officially sentenced to death at 11. 

Dig deeper: Read A.S. Ibrahim’s column in WORLD Opinions on whether the Iranian regime is collapsing.