Iran Issues First Death Sentence Amid Anti-Hijab Protests, Accused Set Govt Building On Fire

Iran on Sunday issued its first death sentence linked to participation in "riots", months into protests sparked by the death of a woman in morality police custody, the judiciary's website said.

Stringer/Middle East Images/File

Accused sentenced to death

The accused was sentenced to death for "setting fire to a government building, disturbing public order, assembly and conspiracy to commit a crime against national security", and for being "an enemy of God and corruption on earth." The unidentified accused was sentenced in a Tehran court to death for the crimes.

According to Iranian media, the charges of which the man was accused are considered the most serious offenses under Iranian law, especially of being an enemy of God and corruption on Earth.

The conviction comes after an attempt by Iranian authorities to violently suppress the protests and hundreds were killed in the police firings. The courts in Tehran have convicted several people for periods extending up to 10-15 years and the protestors in jail are also facing torture and violation of their human rights.

Iran Protest | AFP

Hundreds killed in protest so far

Thousands of people are protesting in Iran since mid-September, against the Hijab and other restrictions on women after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of morality police.

Iranian security forces have killed at least 326 people since nationwide protests erupted two months ago, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO) group has claimed, as per CNN.

That figure includes 43 children and 25 women, the group said in an update to its death toll on Saturday ¨C saying that its published number represented an ¡°absolute minimum.¡± However, CNN said it cannot independently verify the figure as non-state media, the internet, and protest movements in Iran have all been suppressed.

Death tolls vary by opposition groups, international rights organizations, and journalists tracking the ongoing protests.

AFP

Over 2,000 charged

Since demonstrations began in mid-September, more than 2000 people have already been charged, while thousands rot in jail without any official charges. The protestors faced charges ranging from incitement to killing, harming security forces, propaganda against the regime, and damaging public property.

Authorities have, however, denied claims by rights groups abroad that about 15,000 people have been detained in the unrest after Amini's death.

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