Iran issued death sentence for an anti-hijab protester

A Revolutionary Court in Iran has issued the death penalty against an anti-government protester over an Iranian woman’s suspicious death. It is the first time that the death sentence for a person who participated in the protests was officially announced.

According to the Iranian judicial news agency Mizan on Sunday, the Revolutionary Court recently sentenced the death penalty to an anti-government protester who was arrested for starting a fire at the government office. The other five protesters convicted of violating national security and public order were sentenced to five- to 10-year imprisonment. The Mizan report did not include information on the death-sentenced convict or if the person has the right to appeal to the court.

Last month, there was a media report of a family’s testimony that their family member, a 22-year-old Iranian man, received the death sentence after a single round of hearing for trying to speed his car toward police while protesting. However, the Iranian judiciary denied the allegation.

The accused anti-government activists will likely be given a severe sentence for some time. In the capital city of Teheran, the authorities have arrested around 1,000 anti-government activists and announced its plan for an open trial. The Iranian parliament even sent a letter to the judiciary saying that “the protesters have to take their gruel to set an example.” The Revolutionary Court, created after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, has severely punished people who are against the ruling of the Islamic clerics.


Sung-Hwi Kang yolo@donga.com