Iran’s judiciary announced on Sunday the execution of a man convicted of “corruption on earth” during protests that swept the country between December and January.
“The death sentence against Mehrab Abdollahzadeh was carried out this morning after the completion of legal procedures,” the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.
The agency noted that Abdollahzadeh was arrested along with others at a protest site in Urmia (northwest Iran), where a farmer was killed after being violently attacked by “rioters.”
Abdollahzadeh was sentenced to death for “corruption on earth,” one of the most serious charges in Iran. Two other defendants, both minors, were sentenced to prison.
Arrests and executions, particularly those related to last winter’s protests, have increased in Iran since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.
According to human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Iran is the second-largest executioner in the world after China. Iranian authorities maintain that the protests, which peaked in January, began peacefully before turning into “foreign-backed riots.”
The government has acknowledged that more than 3,000 people were killed during the demonstrations, a toll it says includes both security personnel and civilians.
