UPDATE – Iran issues 3 more death sentences over protests

UPDATES WITH NEW DEATH SENTENCES, REVISES HEADLINE

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – A court in Tehran on Wednesday sentenced three more protesters to death in connection with months-long protests over the death of a young woman in police custody, taking the total number of death penalties to five.

One of the protesters was sentenced for "attacking police officers", in which a policeman was killed and several others were injured, Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the judiciary, said in a report.

He was accused of committing “corruption on earth".

Another protester was accused of “drawing a cold weapon” and wounding a security guard, as well as “creating terror and insecurity for citizens”, it added.

He was sentenced on charges of moharebeh (waging war against God).

Another protester, who allegedly “attempted to close the street, prevent the movement of vehicles and cause terror”, and “damaged public property”, was also sentenced to death.

On Tuesday evening, a protester was sentenced to death for engaging in "street warfare" amid sweeping protests, the country's judiciary said in a statement.

The death penalties came after Iran's judiciary on Sunday issued the first death sentence against a protester in connection with the anti-government protests in the country.

The defendant was accused of "setting fire to a government building" and "disturbing public order and peace, assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security, war and corruption in the land".

Five other defendants were given sentences ranging between 5 and 10 years on charges of "assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security and disruption of public order and peace", the judiciary said.

The verdicts are preliminary and can be challenged in the appeals court.

Iranian authorities have not come out with the official death toll in the countrywide protests yet, but independent watchdogs have put the toll at more than 250 people, including civilians and policemen.

Javaid Rehman, the special UN rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, last week said as many as 14,000 people have been arrested since September.

Authorities in Iran have rejected the claim as well as reports doing rounds on social media about thousands of people facing execution.

The claim that 15,000 people have been sentenced to death over protests was shared by many world leaders and activists, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who later deleted the tweet.

The death sentences came days after Iran's judiciary chief Mohseni Ejei called for expediting the cases related to the protests.

The US and European Union have in recent weeks imposed a slew of sanctions on Iranian officials and entities over what they call a "brutal crackdown on protests".

On Monday, EU foreign ministers approved a fresh package of sanctions against Iran, targeting 29 individuals and 3 entities for their role in the death of Amini.

"The EU strongly condemns the unacceptable violent crackdown of protesters. We stand with the Iranian people and support their right to protest peacefully and voice their demands and views freely," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, for his part, decried the sanctions, terming the action "illegal and interventionist".