Iran executes three men linked to anti-hijab protests for ‘war against God’

Iran Anti-Hijab Protests: Unprecedented protests were witnessed in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Authorities in Iran executed three men convicted of violence against the country's security forces during protests triggered after the custodial death of Mahsa Amini's death last year, the judiciary said. Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were convicted of "moharebeh", or "war against God", for killing three members of the security forces, the judiciary's Mizan Online news website noted.

Iran Anti-Hijab Protests: A woman holds a placard with a picture of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini during a protest against her death. (AP)

Unprecedented protests were witnessed in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. She had been arrested for an alleged breach of strict dress rules for women- not wearing her hijab properly. The protests were slammed by Iran's regime and labelled foreign-instigated “riots” during which thousands of Iranians were arrested and hundreds killed.

Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghoubi were arrested in November and sentenced to death in January, news agency AFP reported. They were also charged with membership of “illegal groups with the intention of disrupting national security and collusion leading to crimes against internal security.”

The judiciary noted "evidence and documents in the case and the clear statements made by the accused" which show that "the shootings carried out by these three people led to the martyrdom of three security forces".

With this, Iran has executed a total of seven people in connection with the protests. “The prosecution relied on forced ‘confessions,’ and the indictment was riddled with irregularities that reveal this was a politically motivated case,” Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said.