Iran executes two men in connection with nationwide protests

Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Authorities in Iran executed two men on Saturday morning after the pair was convicted of killing a paramilitary officer during nationwide protests in November.

Iran's state-run news agency Mizan confirmed the executions by hanging of Mohammad Mahdi Karami, 22, and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, 39.

The two men were originally found guilty in December and sentenced to death. They appealed, but on Tuesday an Iranian court upheld the verdict.

Amnesty International called the trial of both men a "sham," noting they were not allowed to choose their own lawyer. Karami's family members said they were not permitted in-person visits before the execution.

Both men also said they were tortured by Iranian officials into submitting false confessions in the death of Seyed Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the country's Basij paramilitary force.

"These men weren't executed after a judicial process, they were lynched," Center for Human Rights in Iran Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi said in a statement.

"From the moment they were arrested, they were considered guilty with no chance of being proven innocent because the cases against them were politically motivated. The Islamic Republic is using executions and lethal force against street protesters to instill terror in the hearts of the population to crush the Iranian people's hopes and calls for change," Ghaemi said.

"Iran must immediately end the violence against its own people," British Foreign Minister James Cleverly said in a tweet. "The execution of Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini by the Iranian regime is abhorrent. The UK is strongly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances."

Iranian police charged a total of 16 people in the case. Five of them were given death sentences, while the remainder received long prison terms.

The officer was killed when he was confronted by a group of angry protesters in the city of Karaj, the capital of central Alborz province amid larger national protests following the police-involved death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman. Amini was arrested by the country's morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly. She died in police custody in Tehran on Sept. 16.

Amini's death sparked protests around the country against the morality police and violence against women, with Iranian moderates flooding streets across the country.

Those demonstrators sparked a crackdown from the country's hardline government. At least four dissidents have been executed by the state so far and at least 516 protesters, including 70 children, have been killed during demonstrations.

More than 19,000 others have been arrested, according to Iranian human rights activists.

Human rights solidarity protests continue across the globe in support.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 people marched in the Swiss capital of Zurich Saturday, protesting state repression in Iran and calling for the Swiss government to introduce sanctions against Tehran.