Iran’s Supreme Court on Saturday upheld the death sentence handed down to a man for his role in anti-government protests sparked in September following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a woman arrested in Tehran for allegedly wearing a veil incorrectly, while overturning the death sentence against a second defendant.
The Supreme Court said it rejected the appeal filed by the man, identified as Mohamad Qabaldo, who was convicted of running over six policemen in November, an event that resulted in the death of one officer, while the other five were injured, according to the Iranian news portal Mizan Online.
In the case of Saman Saidi, a rapper sentenced to death in October for criticizing the government in his songs, the court has decided to accept his appeal, so the death sentence against him has been overturned. However, it has ordered that the trial be retried.
The Iranian authorities have so far executed two people convicted for their role in the demonstrations, while several thousand have been arrested. Among them are more than 20 facing the death penalty, according to a report published on December 10 by the local daily ‘Etemad’.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard recently confirmed that more than 300 people have been killed since the start of the protests, in what was the first official toll since the mobilizations began over the death of Amini, a member of Iran’s Kurdish minority. The figure is lower than the one provided by the NGO Iran Human Rights, which points to more than 400 deaths as a result of repression by the security forces.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
