ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s judiciary on Thursday executed another protester in connection with a case involving several people accused of killing four members of the security forces during nationwide protests in January, when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other security forces killed thousands of demonstrators.
Ghaem Hosseini, also known as Arian, was hanged for his alleged involvement in the deaths of four members of the security forces in Shahid Alikhani Square in Isfahan’s Malekshahr area during the January protests, according to the judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency, which described the protests as a “coup”.
Hosseini was also charged with other offenses, including causing widespread public insecurity and intimidation. Mizan claimed that he had confessed to “being present in the Alikhani Square protest and was carrying a cold weapon.”
Hosseini is the fifth person to be executed in the case, alongside Erfan Esfandiari, Golmohammad Mohammadi, Amir Hossein Safari, and Abolfazl Sepahi.
Iranian authorities have used executions, including public hangings, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in what rights groups describe as a tactic to intimidate the public and suppress dissent.
At least three dozen political prisoners, including protesters, have been executed since January, when demonstrations triggered by inflation and the devaluation of the currency spread from Tehran’s bazaar to other parts of the country.
Iranian security forces killed thousands of protesters on January 8 and 9. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, ranging from 15,000 according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which has verified at least 7,000 cases, to 52,000 according to US President Donald Trump.
Since the crackdown on protesters in January, rights groups have reported a rise in arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, and executions, particularly affecting ethnic minorities. Some executions have been carried out in public.
