Iran sentences first anti-government protester to death

Iran’s Revolutionary Court has sentenced an anti-government protester to death, and handed down jail terms to five others, state media says, against the backdrop of persistent unrest in the country.

The ruling likely marks the first death sentence in the trials of those arrested for participating in protests that have swept Iran over the past weeks demanding an end to clerical rule.

Mizan, a news website is linked to Iran’s judiciary, says the death sentence follows on the heels of charges that the protester set fire to a government building. The five prison terms range from five to 10 years,  given various alleged national security and public order violations.

Mizan says separate branches of the Revolutionary Court issued the verdicts, but did not share further details of the protesters on trial, who can appeal the decisions.

The court was established following the 1979 Islamic Revolutions and is known for meting out harsh punishments to those who oppose Iran’s clerical rulers.