Three more people have been sentenced to death by an Iranian court for their alleged involvement in the killing of three members of Iran’s security forces, reported Iran Wire. This brings the official number of people handed capital punishment in the country to 17, in response to the protests in the country which have continued since the September death of Iranian Kurdish woman Jîna Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.
The three men, Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeed Yaghoubi, have all been sentenced on charges of Moharebeh (“waging war against God”) and were found guilty by the court of belonging to a “criminal group with the intention of disrupting the security of the country”.
These latest sentences came two days after Iran executed two protesters over alleged crimes against national security, bringing the total number of executions to four.
On Monday, France 24 cited the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group as saying that at least 109 protesters were currently facing charges that could lead to execution, or had already been sentenced to death.
The international community continues to respond to the treatment of protesters by the Islamic Republic with protests and sanctions, with Canada announcing a fresh set of sanctions on Monday over the country’s “brutal repression of brave Iranian voices”.