🔶 Ali Hemati and Majid Nikanesh, two protesters of Dey were executed

The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic announced that Ali Hemati and Majid Nikanesh, two detained protesters during the Dey 1404 protests in Mashhad, were executed at dawn on Wednesday, the 8th of Mehr.

The judiciary described Hemati and Nikanesh as people active in the protests of 18 Dey in the Tabrisi area of Mashhad, and claimed that they had a role in “an attack on public property and fighting with security forces.”

Based on the account given by the judicial system, during these protests, four security forces personnel were killed.

The judiciary also stated that the two men, in the stages of interrogation and trial, “confessed to participating in setting a shop on fire, destroying property, and attacking security forces.” It is not clear under what conditions these confessions were obtained.

Iranian and international human rights organizations have repeatedly warned about the Islamic Republic’s security agents using torture and ill-treatment of detainees to obtain forced confessions, and have questioned the credibility of confessions taken under pressure.

The increase in the execution of death sentences in Iran has also faced widespread criticism from human rights organizations. These organizations consider executions in Iran to be a tool to create fear and suppress opponents and protesters.

These executions are carried out while Iran is facing high inflation, the ongoing decline in the value of the rial, and mounting pressure on families’ livelihoods—factors that, in recent years, have been among the conditions behind the formation of nationwide uprisings and protests.