Iranian Citizen Sentenced to Death for Protesting Against Government

A court in Tehran has sentenced the first person to death for taking part in the anti-government protests sweeping Iran, following a crackdown on demonstrations that began after a young woman died in police custody. 

State media reported the first round of sentencing for people who had been arrested in the protests had taken place in a Revolutionary Court in Tehran – a special court system to try people accused of crimes such as trying to overthrow the government.  

Mizan News Agency, an Iranian news outlet connected to the judiciary, confirmed the death penalty for one person and prison sentences of between five and ten years for five people in other courts. 

The statement said the person who was given the death sentence had set fire to a government building and was charged with “spreading corruption on Earth.”

Protests mostly led by women and young people have been raging across Iran for nearly two months, aimed at deposing the clergymen who have ruled the country for the past four decades. A recent crackdown by the morality police on a trend of Iranian women dressing in a way deemed “un-Islamic” turbocharged the protests, which began after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died in police custody in Tehran after being detained for allegedly not wearing suitably modest clothing.

Speedy closed-door trials have been used to clamp down on any threat to the Islamic Republic since its inception in 1979. The single-judge hearings mainly use charges like “spreading corruption on earth” or “disrupting national security” and vague directions like “attempt to overthrow the government” to pass heavy sentences, including the death penalty and life in prison.

Iran executes a high number of people. The state put 314 to death in 2021, according to Amnesty International – the second highest number of people executed globally after China.

The United Nations estimates 14,000 people have been detained in the protests so far. Security forces have also used extreme measures to stop protests, including shooting at protesters with live ammunition and birdshot. Still, people have continued supporting the nationwide protests, including on Tehran’s metro, which is becoming an important backdrop for the protest movement. 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s Supreme Leader, has blamed “foreign plots” for orchestrating the demonstrations. 

Over the last two months, the Iranian regime has blamed a range of countries and armed groups outside of Iran for fuelling the latest wave of unrest, including Israel and the US.

According to judiciary figures, more than 2,000 people face charges for participating in this wave of protests. An estimated 326 have been killed, and hundreds more have been injured, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group.