Iran Sentences Another Protester to Death Amid Ongoing Crackdown

A court in northern Iran has sentenced another man to death for participating in protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, state media reported on Tuesday.

Javad Rouhi, who was sentenced to death after being convicted of the capital charge of “corruption on earth,” was a “leader” of protests in the city of Nowshahr where he is alleged to have committed “significant criminal actions,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

Rouhi was charged with multiple offenses, including destruction of public property and committing apostasy through the burning of a Quran, according to the report.

Rouhi can appeal his death sentence, Tasnim said.

This sentencing comes days after Iran sentenced another man named Arshia Takdastan to death after accusing him of leading protests in Nowshahr as well.

Iran has already carried out the execution of four protesters, including Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini who were put to death on Saturday, and Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard who were executed the previous month.

Over a dozen other protesters have been sentenced to death, according to Iranian authorities.

The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) has reported that at least 100 Iranians detained for participating in protests are at risk of execution.

The protests, which have swept across Iran, were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Amini after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran in mid-September. The demonstrations have been demanding the overthrow of the regime, creating one of the most significant challenges to the Islamic Republic since it was founded in 1979.

The regime views the protests as “riots” that are backed by foreign powers.

According to human rights groups, hundreds of people have been killed by security forces during the protests and thousands have been arrested.