Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a protester, State media reported on Saturday, after earlier reporting that his appeal had been accepted.
Earlier on Saturday, state media reported that the Supreme Court had accepted the appeals of Mohammad Ghobadlou and Saman Seydi, two protesters who had been sentenced to death.
An ongoing series of protests and civil unrest against the government began in Tehran on 16 September 2022 as a reaction to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini (Persian: مهسا امینی), who had been arrested by the Guidance Patrol for wearing an “improper” hijab — in violation of the Islamic mandatory hijab law.
The Supreme Court later issued an amendment, saying Ghobadlou’s appeal has been rejected and that his death sentence has been upheld, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The 22-year-old’s life is in “serious danger,” the activist group 1500tasvir tweeted after the news that his death sentence had been upheld.
Iran has already executed two protesters. Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard, both 23, were hanged earlier this month.
“At least 39 protesters are currently at risk of execution or death penalty sentences,” Oslo-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said last week.
Protests – described by the regime as “riots” – have swept across Iran since September 16 when 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini died after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran.
Since Amini’s death, demonstrators have been calling for the downfall of the regime in a movement that has become one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979.
At least 469 people, including 63 children and 32 women, have been killed by security forces in the protests, according to IHR.
Alarabiya News