Iran executes man, 23, for killing Tehran policeman during 2022 protests
Execution of Mohammad Ghobadlou is eighth carried out by Iran’s judiciary over nationwide chaos sparked by death of Mahsa Amini
TEHRAN — Iran executed a 23-year-old man Tuesday after convicting him of killing a policeman and wounding others during nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, the judiciary said.
“The death sentence of Mohammad Ghobadlou… was carried out this morning after 487 days of legal proceedings,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.
Ghobadlou had been found guilty of killing a policeman and wounding five others, Mizan said.
The events took place during nationwide protests sparked by the September 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Amini, an Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly breaking Iran’s strict dress code for women by failing to cover her hair.
At least 529 people were killed and scores of thousands of others detained in the demonstrations. The protests gradually died down in the early months of last year.
Ghobadlou was initially sentenced to death in November 2022 after being convicted of the capital offense of “corruption on Earth” for attacking police in Tehran with a car, resulting in the death of one officer and injuries to five others, according to Mizan at the time.
Devastating news; Islamic Republic has just executed 23 year old #MohammadGhobadlou for the crime of joining last year’s protest over the murder of #MahsaAmini by morality police.
Yes! his crime is protesting for “Woman, Life, Freedom, in order to see a free Iran but he was… pic.twitter.com/T2stCHqS8q— Masih Alinejad ????️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 23, 2024
According to a report on Iranian state television, 23-year-old Ghobadlou, who had confessed to his crime, had access to a lawyer during the trial.
Ghobadlou had appealed his death sentence, handed down by a lower court, but the Supreme Court later upheld the original verdict.
In February 2023, the Supreme Court granted him a stay of execution and later referred his case to a new jurisdiction to deal with issues relating to his mental health, according to a report by Iran’s Mehr news agency in July.
On Tuesday, Mizan said the Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence against Ghobadlou, which was carried out under Iran’s Islamic law of retribution.
Ghobadlou’s execution brings the number of people executed on charges of murder or other violence against security force personnel during the protests to eight.
Separately, the Supreme Court commuted the sentence against another death row prisoner, Mahan Sadrat, to 10 years in Kalibar prison in the East Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran.
Sadrat had been found guilty of the capital offense of “moharebeh” — or “enmity against God” — along with other charges related to the 2022 protests.
Iran executes more people per year than any other nation except China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.
Iran generally carries out executions by hanging.
In November, Iran hanged Milad Zhohrevand, 21, in the western city of Hamadan for shooting and killing a member of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard during the protests.
Earlier this month, two female journalists were freed from prison after spending more than a year behind bars for covering Amini’s death and the subsequent protests.
Niloufar Hamedi, 31, and Elaheh Mohammadi, 36, were sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison respectively, and were released temporarily after paying bail.
Less than 24 hours after they were released, however, the two were slapped with new charges for allegedly violating the country’s mandatory hijab laws during outdoor celebrations with their families upon their release.
