Iran Hangs 23-Year-Old Man in First Protest-Related Execution

Mohsen Shekari was hanged to death on the morning of Thursday, 8 December.

(Photo: Twitter)

Video Producer: Shohini Bose

Video Editor: Pawan Kumar

Iran has announced its first publicly-known execution of a man who was convicted of a crime related to the ongoing anti-government protests in the country. He was hanged on the morning of Thursday, 8 December.

Who was he? Identified as Mohsen Shekari, the man was found guilty of "waging war against God" by a Revolutionary Court in Iran. The 23-year-old was accused of attacking a security officer with a knife and blocking a road in Tehran, according to Al Jazeera.

When was he arrested? Shekari was arrested on 25 September, just a few days after protests broke out across the country over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, allegedly at the hands of the country's morality police.

And then? On 1 November, Shekari was found guilty of "fighting and drawing a weapon with the intention of killing, causing terror and disturbing the order and security of society," according to BBC. Though he appealed against the verdict, it was upheld by the country's supreme court on 20 November.

Why is this important? According to BBC, Iran's judiciary has placed 10 other protesters on death row on the charges of "waging a war against God" or "corruption on Earth."

Ever since the women-led anti-government protests broke out in mid-September, at least 475 protesters have been killed and 18,240 have been detained, according to the Human Rights Activists' News Agency (HRANA).

Recently, amid international media reports celebrating the alleged disbanding of Iran's morality police, Iranian citizens and activists warned that this "fake news" was a mere eyewash and would not make any real difference to the hijab rules on the ground.

(With inputs from Al Jazeera, BBC.)