Raging backlash as Iran executes protester
Iranians expressed horror, disbelief and anger at the ruling establishment and its judiciary, which hanged a 23-year-old protester over his participation in an anti-government demonstration.
TEHRAN — The execution of Mohsen Shekari at a prison outside Tehran on Thursday unleashed a barrage of furious reactions from ordinary Iranians in the midst of the anti-government unrest that has engulfed Iran for nearly three months.
The early morning announcement on Thursday marked the first known death penalty carried out against a detainee arrested in the ongoing protests and sent shockwaves across Iran, fueling fears that the state was determined to go the extra mile in quelling the unrest with executions as a fear tactic.
The 23-year-old was found guilty of "Moharebeh" or "waging war on God" as part of a chain of ongoing trials of protesters that Amnesty International has described as "grossly unfair" and "marked by summary and predominantly secret processes."
.@amnesty is horrified at today’s execution of protester Mohsen Shekari by Iranian authorities less than 3 weeks after sentencing him in a grossly unfair sham trial. His execution exposes the inhumanity of Iran's so-called justice system as dozens of others face the same fate. pic.twitter.com/xwZ7lcc8oK
