Iranian Protester Handed Three Death Sentences

An Iranian court has sentenced a protester three times to death for allegedly setting fire to a Quran and a police checkpoint and for chanting slogans against the mandatory hijab, media reports say, as the Islamic Republic is increasingly using capital punishments to clamp down on nationwide protests.

The defendant, 35-year-oild Javad Rohi, did not have a lawyer during his trial.

Lawyer Majid Kaveh said the court had now allowed him to take on the case and that he will appeal.

Rohi was arrested after a clash broke out between security forces and protesters on September 21 in the northern city of Nowshahr, Mazandaran Province.

Security forces gunned down at least four demonstrators that night and arrested hundreds over the following days. Three of those detained have since been handed capital punishment.

The violence in Nowshahr occurred five days after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police, which triggered the widespread demonstrations against Iran’s clerical establishment.

Security forces have killed more than 500 people, including dozens of children, and detained over 18,000 in their crackdown on the protests, human rights activists say.

Around 20 people have been handed capital punishment in connection with the protests. Two of them were hanged earlier this month amid international outrage, bringing to four the number of people executed so far.