Iran 'secretly executes' man convicted of killing a Revolutionary Guards officer
Nov 24, 2023
Paris [France], November 24 : Iran secretly executed a man on Thursday after convicting him of killing a member of the security forces amidst mass protests that swept the country last year, reported Voice of America citing Norway-based Hengaw organization.
Milad Zohrevand, who was in his early 20s was executed at dawn in a prison in the western city of Hamadan. He had been sentenced to death for killing a Revolutionary Guards officer during a protest in the town of Malayer in November last year.
The protests were in relation to the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict Hijab rules for women, who died in custody. Civil unrest ran rampant against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Zohrevand reportedly received no prior notification of his execution and was not granted a final meeting with his family, Voice of America has reported.
The execution has not been reported in Iranian media.
The Dadban legal collective also confirmed the execution on social media, adding that Zohrevand had been denied a lawyer.
The execution becomes the eighth that Iran has carried out in relation to the 2022 protests, drawing condemnation from human rights groups and Western governments.
Three men were executed in relation to the protests in May of this year. Amnesty International said they were intended to "send a strong message to the world and the people of Iran that they will stop at nothing to crush and punish dissent."
Iran launched a sweeping crackdown to snuff out the protests that saw hundreds killed and thousands arrested, according to the United Nations.
Iran has executed at least 680 people this year, mostly on murder and drug-related charges, reported Voice of America citing the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.
