Iran has issued its first known death sentence in connection with the mass protests that have swept the country in response to the death of a 22-year-old woman while in police custody in September.
Mizan Online, the website of Iran’s Revolutionary Court, reported on Sunday that it had issued a death sentence related to “rioting.”
The outlet said that the sentence was handed down for the crime of “setting fire to a government building, disturbance of public order, meeting and concert to commit crimes against national security, and enemy of God and corruption on earth.”
Another court in Tehran sentenced five people to prison terms, ranging from five to 10 years, for “gathering together and conspiring to commit crimes against national security and disturbing public order.”
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The ruling probably marks the first death sentence in the trials of those arrested for taking part in the protests that have swept Iran in recent weeks demanding an end to clerical rule.
The Revolutionary Court was established after the 1979 Islamic revolutions and is known for handing out harsh punishments to those who oppose Iran’s clerical rulers.
Iran has already issued indictments for hundreds of detained protesters, saying it will hold public trials for them.
Iranians protest the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, after she was detained by morality police, in Tehran on September 20, 2022, in this photo taken by a non-Associated Press employee and obtained by AP outside of Iran. .
(AP Photo/Middle East Images, File)
The anti-government demonstrations entered their eighth week and were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained after allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.
Judicial authorities have announced charges against hundreds of people in other Iranian provinces. Some have been charged with “corruption on earth” and “war against God”, crimes that carry the death penalty.
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Security forces, including paramilitary Revolutionary Guard volunteers, have violently suppressed the demonstrations, killing more than 300 people, including dozens of children, according to Oslo-based Iran Human Rights. Iranian authorities say more than 40 members of the security forces were also killed in unrest across the country.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
