Iran has executed three men accused of killing police officers during anti-government protests in January, state media reports, marking the first hangings linked to the demonstrations.
Among those executed was Saleh Mohammadi, a teenager and member of Iran's national wrestling team, according to sources. The executions occurred Thursday morning local time in Qom province after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences, as reported by Iran's Tasnim news agency.
The protests began in December and escalated in January, leading to a violent crackdown by Iranian authorities, with rights groups stating that thousands have lost their lives.
Tasnim, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that Mohammadi, along with Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi, was found guilty of killing two police officers in separate incidents in Qom. They were charged with moharebeh or waging war against God, a euphemism often used by Iran for executing dissenters.
Critically, human rights organizations claim that the three were coerced into confessing under torture and received no fair trial prior to their executions.
The recent executions follow another, that of Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national, who was hanged on accusations of espionage.
The protests have spread across 180 cities, initially ignited by economic grievances, but have evolved into calls for political reform, presenting one of the most severe challenges to the Iranian clerical system since the 1979 revolution.
With severe internet restrictions imposed during the protests, gaining a clear understanding of the situation has proven difficult, leading to alarming reports of violent state responses. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, an estimated 7,000 individuals were killed during the government’s attempt to suppress these uprisings, including a distressing count of 236 children.
