Three men arrested during mass anti-government protests in January have been executed by hanging by Iranian authorities.
The executions were reported on November 8 by Iran’s state media.
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Hassan Deobad, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh were hanged in the city of Karaj after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences. Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that they had been found guilty of cooperating with the United States and Israel, as well as of involvement in the armed unrest of January 8 and 9.
According to the authorities, the three convicts had attacked public and government facilities, and were also accused of arson and damaging public property.
Prosecutors claimed that they had used firearms, grenades and Molotov cocktails. The case file also included allegations that they had taken part in the destruction of an electricity substation in Karaj, causing power outages in several areas.
Hassan Deobad was arrested on January 11 on suspicion of attacking public facilities and inciting acts of violence. Following his detention, the authorities also arrested ten other people, who were accused of taking part in the unrest that, according to Iran’s judiciary, was directed by him.
Karaj’s Revolutionary Court sentenced the three main defendants to death and ordered the confiscation of their assets. The other people arrested in the case were sentenced to between five and ten years in prison.
The executions were carried out after the convicts’ appeals were rejected and the sentences received final approval from the Supreme Court.
These executions are part of a series of death sentences carried out in Iran in recent months against people arrested during the January anti-government protests.
Iranian authorities have linked several of these cases to accusations of cooperation with the United States and Israel. According to them, the convicted individuals were involved in organized activities that threatened national security.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly expressed concern about the judicial proceedings against those arrested during the protests. They have reported procedural irregularities and warned that people who took part in the anti-government demonstrations could face execution.
On November 6, Friday, the HRANA organization reported that the Revolutionary Court in Karaj had sentenced Hamid Kazemi and Hassan Deobad to death. Two days later, the authorities confirmed the execution of both men and of Reza Zanganeh.
