Iran executes second detainee over alleged protest crime

Iran on Monday executed a second prisoner detained and convicted amid nationwide protests challenging the countrys theocracy airing footage on state television it claimed shows him stabbing two security force members to death and running awayThe public hanging of Majidreza Rahnavard less than a month after he allegedly carried out the fatal stabbings purportedly angry about security forces killing protesters shows the speed at which Iran now carries out death sentences handed down for those detained in the demonstrations the government hopes to put downActivists warn that at least a dozen people already have been sentenced to death in closeddoor hearings At least 488 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in midSeptember according to Human Rights Activists in Iran a group thats been monitoring the protests Another 18200 people have been detained by authoritiesIrans Mizan news agency under the countrys judiciary alleged Rahnavard had stabbed two security force members to death Nov 17 in the city of Mashhad and wounded four others The agency said the execution took place on Monday morning in public in MashhadFootage aired on state TV showed a man chasing another around a street corner then standing over him and stabbing him after he fell against a parked motorbike Another showed the same man stabbing another immediately after The assailant which state TV alleged was Rahnavard then fled The Mizan report identified the dead as student Basij paramilitary volunteers under Irans Revolutionary Guard The Basij baSEEJ have deployed in major cities attacking and detaining protesters who in many cases have fought backA heavily edited state television report aired after Rahnavards execution showed clips of him in the courtroom In the video he says he came to hate the Basijis after seeing video clips on social media of the forces beating and killing protesters The Mizan report accused Rahnavard of trying to flee to a foreign country when he was arrestedAlso read Iran protests show that people are stronger togetherMashhad a Shiite holy city is located some 740 kilometers 460 miles east of the Iranian capital Tehran Activists say it has seen strikes shops closed and demonstrations amid the unrest that began over the Sept 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini a 22yearold woman who had been detained by Irans morality policeMizan said Rahnavard was convicted in Mashhads Revolutionary Court The tribunals have been internationally criticized for not allowing those on trial to pick their own lawyers or even see the evidence against them Rahnavard had been convicted on the charge of moharebeh a Farsi word meaning waging war against God That charge has been levied against others in the decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and carries the death penaltyFrom Brussels the European Unions foreign ministers expressed dismay at the latest execution The bloc is to approve on Monday a fresh series of sanctions against Iran over its crackdown on protestors and also for supplying drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine the blocs top diplomat saidEU foreign policy chief Josp Borrell said he spoke to Irans foreign minister regarding Tehrans response to the protests and the latest execution and that it was not an easy conversationWe are going to approve a very very tough package of sanctions Borrell told reporters as he arrived to chair the ministerial meeting in Brussels Finlands foreign minister said that he also called his Iranian counterpart German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the execution as a blatant attempt at intimidation of IraniansWe are making clear that we stand beside innocent people in Iran Baerbock said as she arrived at the Brussels meeting A system that treats its people in this way cannot expect to continue to have halfway normal relations with the European UnionIran is one of the worlds top executioners and typically executes prisoners by hanging It executed the first prisoner detained during demonstrations last ThursdayAmnesty International has said it obtained a document signed by one senior Iranian police commander asking that the execution for one prisoner be completed in the shortest possible time and that his death sentence be carried out in public as a heartwarming gesture towards the security forcesAmid the unrest Iran is also battered by an economic crisis that has seen the national currency the rial drop to new lows against the US dollarThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever