For the second time Iran executed by hanging Monday a person the regime convicted of crimes amid nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.
The death sentence against Majidreza Rahnavard came less than a month after he was arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing two members of a paramilitary force, purportedly angered by security forces’ killing of protesters.
Rahnavard’s death sentence follows the execution of Mohsen Shekari on Thursday, who was also hanged. Shekari was accused of blocking a street in Tehran and attacking a member of the security forces with a machete, according to Iran’s judiciary news agency.
The nationwide protests were sparked by the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. She was arrested on the 13th by the morality police for not properly wearing a religious head covering called a hijab.
Activists warn that at least a dozen people have been sentenced to death in closed-door hearings in Iran.
From Brussels, the European Union’s foreign ministers denounced the latest execution. The EU was set to approve on Monday a new round of sanctions against Iran over its crackdown on protesters, and also for supplying drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.
