UK authorities have summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires in the country, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, following the execution of Mohsen Shekari, a man who was arrested during protests in the country after young Mahsa Amini died in police custody.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Shekari’s execution was «horrific.» «He is a tragic victim of a legal system that applies disproportionate, politically motivated sentences and forces confessions,» he said, according to a government statement.
«We have made our position clear to the Iranian authorities: Iran must immediately stop these executions and put an end to violence against its own people,» he said.
Vijay Rangarajan, director general for the Middle East at the UK Foreign Office, met with Hosseini to underline the British view on the matter and warn that this is a «grossly disproportionate action, designed to intimidate ordinary Iranians and silence dissenting voices».
He also noted that the UK opposes the death penalty «in all circumstances» and urged the Iranian authorities to «stop all executions and cease imposing capital punishment».
The prisoner in question was convicted of «intentionally» injuring a security guard with a long knife and blocking a street in the capital, according to information from the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Iranian authorities rejected his lawyer’s appeal as «neither valid nor justified» for finding him guilty of «war crimes» for blocking the street, threatening with weapons and confronting the officers.
