Iran executes 1st known prisoner held in protests – Times of India

TEHRAN: The Iranian government hanged a 23-year-old prisoner on Thursday, the first execution of a person accused of involvement in protests that have engulfed the country for the past three months. The man, Mohsen Shekari, was accused of blocking a street in Tehran and stabbing a member of the Basij militia with a machete 13 times during a protest, according to the Mizan news agency, which is overseen by the country’s judiciary. The report also alleged that Shekari said he had been offered money by an acquaintance to attack the forces.
Shekari was arrested on September 25 and sentenced on November 20 by Iran’s Revolutionary Court, a special court for political cases and political prisoners, the agency said. He was accused of “moharebeh,” or waging war against God, a charge that carries an automatic death sentence.
In a matter of weeks, he was hanged. After his execution, Iranian state television aired a heavily edited package showing the courtroom and parts of Shekari’s trial. State media also published a video of what it said was Shekari’s confession where he appears with a bruiseon his right cheek. Rights groups have said Shekari was tortured to confess. Iran’s police chief, Hossein Ashtari, said that “the police will not show restraint in dealing with security threats,” according to ISNA.