An Iranian have been executed for killing an elite soldier during anti-government unrest in 2017.
Mostafa Salehi, one of several men sentenced to death for their roles in anti-government protests in recent months, was convicted of shooting Sajjad Shah-Sanai, a member of the Revolutionary Guards.
According to Iran’s semi-official news agency, Saleh’s execution on Wednesday August 5, 2020, was carried out as a retribution sentence demanded by the victim’s parents,
The unrest of late 2017 and early 2018 began as demonstrations against economic hardship that spread across the country, triggering violence that killed 21 people and led to thousands of arrests, according to officials.
The economy is again in freefall, crippled by US sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, and activists say the death sentences against Salehi and others are aimed at intimidating future protesters. Iran’s clerical rulers have denied this.
“The silence of the international community about the execution of Salehi can be considered a green light for more executions,” said Mahmoud.
Salehi was executed in Isfahan “at the request of (Shah-Sanai’s) parents.”
Under Iranian religious law, the family of a victim of murder and some other crimes can demand the death of the guilty party, or commute the sentence in return for financial compensation.
