TEHRAN: The Iranian government hanged a 23-year-old prisoner on Thursday, the first execution of a person accused of participating in protests that have rocked the country for three months. The man, Mohsen Shekari, was accused of blocking a street in Tehran and stabbing a member of the Basij militia with a machete 13 times during a protest, according to the Mizan news agency, which is supervised by the justice of the country. The report also alleged that Shekari said an acquaintance offered him money to attack the forces.
Shekari was arrested on September 25 and sentenced on November 20 by Iran’s Revolutionary Court, a special court for political cases and political prisoners, the agency said. He was charged with “moharebeh”, or making war on God, a charge that carried an automatic death sentence.
Within weeks he was hanged. After his execution, Iranian state television aired a heavily edited report showing the courtroom and parts of Shekari’s trial. State media also released a video of what they said was Shekari’s confession where he appears with a bruise on his right cheek. Rights groups said Shekari was tortured into confessing. iranian police chief Hossein Ashtarisaid that “the police will not show restraint in the face of security threats”, according to ISNA.
Shekari was arrested on September 25 and sentenced on November 20 by Iran’s Revolutionary Court, a special court for political cases and political prisoners, the agency said. He was charged with “moharebeh”, or making war on God, a charge that carried an automatic death sentence.
Within weeks he was hanged. After his execution, Iranian state television aired a heavily edited report showing the courtroom and parts of Shekari’s trial. State media also released a video of what they said was Shekari’s confession where he appears with a bruise on his right cheek. Rights groups said Shekari was tortured into confessing. iranian police chief Hossein Ashtarisaid that “the police will not show restraint in the face of security threats”, according to ISNA.
