Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed Friday that those responsible for acts of vandalism and attacks during anti-government demonstrations will be punished «strictly», a day after the execution of a man arrested in the demonstrations unleashed in September for the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, detained for allegedly wearing the veil incorrectly.
Raisi has promised the relatives of the officers killed during the protests that those responsible for these incidents will be «strictly identified and punished» through «the relevant channels.» «While their loss is very difficult for everyone, the despair of the enemies is a great achievement,» he has said.
Thus, he has asserted that «the enemies seek to damage the values of the Islamic Revolution by resorting to a new combined war, but the Iranian nation has faced this conspiracy,» Iran’s Mehr news agency has reported. «The enemies say they defend the lives of the Iranian people, but in practice they murder innocents in the mausoleum of Shah Cheragh,» referring to the October attack by Islamic State.
Raisi’s remarks come a day after the execution of Mohsen Shekari, convicted of «intentionally» injuring a security guard with a knife and blocking a street in the capital, Tehran, according to Tasnim news agency. The Iranian authorities have rejected the appeal by the prisoner’s lawyer, considering it «neither valid nor justified», as they consider him guilty of «war crimes» for blocking the street, threatening with weapons and confronting the officers.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed last week that more than 300 people have died since the start of the protests, in what was the first official toll since the mobilizations began. The figure is lower than the one provided by NGOs, which point to more than 400 dead due to repression by security forces.
