Iran executes second protester after rapid trial as EU plans more sanctions

Iran executed a 2nd detained protester connected Monday, its authorities media reported, aft a accelerated proceedings arsenic unrest and choler toward the authorities proceed to boil implicit astir the country.

Twenty-three twelvemonth aged Majidreza Rahnavard was enactment to decease successful a nationalist hanging little than a period aft his arrest, with pictures from Iranian Mizan quality bureau showing his assemblage hanging from a crane. Cranes person been commonly utilized for nationalist hangings since the aboriginal days of the Islamic Republic aft its constitution successful 1979.

Rahnavard was accused by Iran's judiciary of fatally stabbing 2 members of the Basij information forces, which is simply a paramilitary helping of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The Basij, on with different parts of the country's information apparatus, are carrying retired bloody crackdowns connected Iran's protesters, who person been demonstrating successful much than 50 cities since mid-September.

Activist radical Iranian Human Rights, which is monitoring the protests, says that astatine slightest 488 radical person been killed since that time, with different 18,200 detained.

Iran has agelong held what activists and different governments accidental are sham trials successful bid to imprison oregon execute critics of the state. Rahnavard was charged with the transgression of "moharebeh," which successful Farsi means "waging warfare against God" — a complaint levied against galore opponents and critics of the authorities successful the past 43 years, which carries the decease penalty.

"Another 23-year-old protestor, Majidreza Rahnavard, was conscionable executed successful Mashhad, Iran," Karim Sadjadpour, a elder chap and Iran adept astatine the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, tweeted connected Monday.

"No lawyer, nary owed process, tortured confession, sham trial. He was hanged for 'waging warfare against God.' This cruelty successful the sanction of religion is what has secularized truthful galore young Iranians."

The protests rocking Iran, and proving to beryllium the largest situation to the authorities successful decades, were sparked by the decease of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish pistillate who died successful constabulary custody aft she was detained for allegedly violating Iran's strict headscarf laws. The demonstrations, which person included strikes, walkouts, marches and much examples of civilian unrest, person swelled into a broader question calling for the removal of the full Islamic Republic regime.

Western leaders person expressed daze and outrage implicit the execution carried retired successful Iran frankincense far.

"These executions are a blatant effort to intimidate people, not for committing crimes but conscionable for taking their opinions to the streets, conscionable for wanting to unrecorded successful freedom," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said from Brussels.

She and different EU leaders are acceptable to enforce caller sanctions connected Iran for its crackdown connected the protesters arsenic good arsenic its enactment for Russia successful the signifier of providing Moscow lethal drones for usage successful its warfare successful Ukraine.

"With this bundle of sanctions, we person peculiarly targeted those who are liable for these executions, who are liable for this unit against guiltless people," Baerbock said.

"These are successful peculiar the Revolutionary Guards, but these are besides those who are trying to intimidate oregon further punish radical with forcibly made videos."

Josep Borrell, the EU's overseas argumentation chief, said the bloc was acceptable to "approve a very, precise pugnacious bundle of sanctions" connected Iran's government.

The EU "will instrumentality immoderate enactment we tin successful bid to enactment young women, to enactment peaceful demonstrators and surely rejection of the decease penalty," Borrell said. He added that helium spoke with Iran's overseas curate astir the latest execution and Tehran's effect to the protests, and described it arsenic "not an casual conversation."