Posted on by Shreeyashi Ojha
(Photo by Craig Melville on Unsplash)

The Iranian government has executed a protester Mohsen Shekari, 23, who was on the streets against the death of Mahsa Amini.

He was executed on December 8, 2022, on the grounds of being found guilty by the court of “waging war against God”.

The Supreme leader of Iran, Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei, ordered the execution of Shekari after the Supreme Court confirmed and announced that “Mohsen Shekari’s actions amounted to terrorising the public…”

The regime’s judiciary said: “Mohsen Shekari, a rioter who blocked Sattar Khan street on December 23, 2022, in Tehran and wounded one of the security guards with a machete, was executed this morning.”

The Mizan news agency, run by Iran’s judiciary, said Shekari had been convicted in Tehran’s revolutionary court, which typically holds closed-door cases, on November 1, 2022.

He was among thousands who were protesting and was accused of blocking a street and wounding a member of the pro-regime Basij militia on September 25.

However, being found guilty of using a weapon “with the intention of killing, causing terror and disturbing the order and security of society”, he was convicted by the court.

He appealed against the verdict but it was upheld by the Supreme Court on November 20.

(Photo by Craig Melville on Unsplash)

Director of the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said Shekari’s execution depicts that “the Regime has taken its violence to the next level, the international community must also take its reactions to the next level.”

He also urged the nations of the world with diplomatic relations with Iran to take diplomatic actions against Iran.

The government-led media published a video of Shekari’s confession, with a bruised cheek. This has left the citizens of Iran in shock, as it comes days after the Iran government announced the disbandment of the morality police.

As per the reports, his family was not formally informed about the execution. However, on hearing the news waited outside the jail where he was executed.

The UN Human Rights Commission tweeted:

The protests in Iran, also being referred to as the Iran Revolution, have taken a horrid turn, as armed men shoot at people who are protesting against the stringent Islamic Regime.

The British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, condemned this action, by imposing sanctions on Iran:

The people in Iran are outraged and are resorting to protests, however, the government of Iran has not taken any substantial steps since the death of Mahsa Amini.

Amini, a 22-year-old, was arrested by the Guidance Patrol for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory hijab law by wearing her hijab improperly while visiting Tehran from Saqqez.

According to eyewitnesses, she had been severely beaten by Guidance Patrol officers and died at the hospital as a result of police brutality.

Since September 2022, the protests that were aggravated by the death of Amini, have magnified into a revolution. 

In an attempt to curb these protests, the Iran government announced the disbandment of the Morality Police, as announced by Attorney General Mohammad Javad Montazeri on December 3.

However, the attempt has been futile in stopping the protests. The Kayhan Life, an independent media outlet focusing on Iran, disapproved of the hijab law in Iran and tweeted: