The death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini on September 16, while in police custody, sparked a nationwide protest movement that began with protesting against the compulsory headscarf but soon morphed into an antigovernment protest, with chants echoing for the overthrow of the regime.
Tehran’s revolutionary court on Sunday issued the death sentence to a Tehran protester charged with “waging war against God and the state,” a charge imposed on those who are accused of committing acts against the Iranian government.
The “rioter”, which is a term Iranian authorities use to refer to the protesters, had allegedly drawn a cold weapon “with the intention to kill” and clashed with the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Basij force, injuring one of the members of the group, according to the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan online.
The verdict is the sixth death sentence issued recently by Iranian courts with connection to the protests. The sentences are preliminary, and the defendants can appeal them in the Supreme Court, Mizan added.
Amnesty International said in May that global executions in 2021 rose by 20 percent, with Iran topping the list for state-sanctioned killings over the past five years, as it recorded its highest execution figure since 2017 with 314 people executed.
Tehran has been heavily criticized for its violent crackdown on the demonstrations.
The number of protesters killed across the country as of Friday evening stood at 402, including 58 children and teenagers, according to a tally provided by US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
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