Iran executed another prisoner for alleged crimes committed during protests over the death of Mahsa Amini

The Iranian regime executed a prisoner on Tuesday for the alleged murder of a police officer during protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. This brings the total number of protesters hanged to eight. Mohamed Ghobadlou, 23, was sentenced to two death sentences for “corruption on earth” at the end of 2023. The Supreme Court stayed the sentence and ordered a review of the case to study Ghobadlou’s mental health in February. However, the courts ultimately rejected that he suffered from mental problems. State agency IRNA published a video with an alleged confession by Ghobadlou, in which he claims that he ran over police officers.

Amnesty International (AI) stated that Ghobadlou suffered from “long-term mental disability” and denounced that he was convicted in “a farce of a trial, marked by confessions obtained through torture.” Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi condemned Ghobadlou’s execution, calling it “a deliberate act of murder and a crime.”

Amini’s death sparked protests that called for the end of the Islamic Republic and led to the arrest of at least 22,000 people. Iran is the world‘s leading country in applying the death penalty, with 576 executions carried out in 2022. Human rights groups have reported the execution of up to 800 people in the country in 2023, with most cases related to drug trafficking and possession.