Iran's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for Sunni Muslim cleric Mohammad Khezrnejad, who was arrested during the 2022 nationwide protests.
Branch 41 of the Supreme Court, headed by Judge Ali Razini, affirmed the punishments initially handed down by a Revolutionary Court in the northwestern city of Urmia.
Khezrnejad was arrested in November 2022 amid the anti-government unrest that swept through Iran.
He and his son were detained in the city of Bukan after Khezrnejad delivered a speech at the funeral of a protester killed by security forces.
The cleric was charged with "spreading corruption on Earth, threatening national security, and anti-Islamic Republic propaganda" by the Urmia court, presided over by Judge Reza Najafzadeh.
His sentencing relied heavily on contested confessions that Khezrnejad claims were extracted under duress during interrogations.
Human rights monitors have reported that Khezrnejad was also physically assaulted during the arrest process.
He has denied all the accusations against him as baseless.
The Supreme Court's decision upholds one of the harshest sentences handed down to participants in the nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.
To date, the authorities have executed nine young protesters.
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