Iran sentences three more protesters to death amid international criticism

Iran’s judiciary has sentenced three more anti-government protesters to death on charges of waging war on God.

Iran hanged two other people on Saturday in its attempts to stamp out demonstrations, which have slowed considerably since it began executions carried out just weeks after arrests.

The Basij forces, affiliated with the elite Revolutionary Guards, have been at the forefront of the state clampdown on the unrest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police on 16 September.

Pope Francis on Monday condemned Iran for using the death penalty on demonstrators demanding greater respect for women.

“The right to life is also threatened in those places where the death penalty continues to be imposed, as is the case in these days in Iran, following the recent demonstrations demanding greater respect for the dignity of women,” Francis said.

One of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution, the protests have drawn support from Iranians in all walks of life and challenged the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy by calling for the downfall of its rulers.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday signaled the state has no intention of softening its position, saying in a televised speech that those who set fire to public places have committed treason with no doubt. Under Iran’s Islamic law, treason is punishable by death.

Rights activists see the executions, arrests and harsh sentences of protesters by the clerical establishment as an attempt to intimidate demonstrators and strike enough fear in the population to end the unrest. Despite the establishment doubling down on repression, small-scale protests persist in Tehran, Isfahan and several other cities.

At least four people have been hanged since the demonstrations started, according to the judiciary, including two protesters on Saturday for allegedly killing a member of the Basij.

Amnesty International said last month that Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 26 others in what it called “sham trials designed to intimidate protesters”.

Rights activists on social media said two other protesters, 22-year-old Mohammad Ghobadlou and 18-year-old Mohammad Boroughani, had been transferred to solitary confinement ahead of their execution in the Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj city.