A show of solidarity with Iranian protesters at the Brandenburg Gate in Germany.
Christoph Söder | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
As Iran enters its eighth week of public unrest following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, the country’s Revolutionary Court on Sunday handed down its first known death sentence for taking part in the anti-regime protests.
According to the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online, the unidentified defendant set fire to a government building and was convicted of “disturbing public order and comfort, the community and conspiring to commit a crime against national security.”
Five other people were sentenced to prison terms of between five and 10 years for violations of national security and public order, according to the verdict.
The verdicts are subject to appeal and further details of the case will not be released until after the final verdict.
At least 326 people have been killed in one of the biggest ongoing challenges facing the Iranian regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to the Norway-based non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights.
Iranian protesters take to the streets of the capital Tehran on September 21, days after she was killed in police custody, during a protest for Mahsa Amini.
AFP | Getty Images
The use of the death penalty is a new tool in the government’s toolbox to suppress anti-government demonstrations.
According to the United Nations, an estimated 14,000 people have been arrested and detained since the protests began almost two months ago. About 1,000 people in Tehran have been charged over their alleged involvement in the unrest.
Before Sunday, those involved in the protests were charged with crimes carrying the death penalty, namely “waging war against God” and “corruption on earth”.
“We call on the Iranian authorities to stop using the death penalty as a means of cracking down on protests,” the UN said in a statement, repeating the organization’s call for the release of protesters.
Ramin Forouzandeh, an Iranian PhD student based in Toronto, told CNBC that while he believes lawmakers have a “desire” to hang every protester, he fears doing so will spark more serious waves of protests.
“I think they’re testing their limits. I can say with confidence that when the protests calm down they will start hanging the prisoners and redoubling the repression.”