Iran said Monday that it killed its second prisoner seized amid national protests against the country’s theocracy, presenting video on state television that purported to show him stabbing a man to death and fleeing.
The execution of Majidreza Rahnavard, less than a month after he allegedly carried out the fatal stabbings of two security personnel, demonstrates the quickness with which Iran now executes people captured in the demonstrations that the government seeks to put down.
At least a dozen people have already been condemned to death in closed-door tribunals, according to activists. According to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been tracking the protests, at least 488 people have been killed since the rallies began in mid-September. Authorities have detained an additional 18,200 persons.
According to Iran’s Mizan news agency, Rahnavard stabbed two security force personnel to death and injured four others on Nov. 17 in Mashhad.
On state television, footage showed a guy pursuing another around a street corner, then standing over him and stabbing him after he collided with a parked motorcycle. The assailant, whom state television identified as Rahnavard, then escaped.
According to the Mizan article, the victims were “student” Basij, Revolutionary Guard paramilitary volunteers. The Basij (ba-SEEJ’) have been deployed in major cities, assaulting and arresting protestors, many of whom have fought back.
The Mizan report provided no explanation for Rahnavard’s purported attack. Rahnavard was suspected of attempting to leave to a foreign nation when he was apprehended, according to the report.
Mashhad, a Shiite holy city, is located 740 kilometers (460 miles) east of Tehran, the Iranian capital. According to activists, Mashhad has experienced strikes, store closures, and rallies.
Mizan stated that Rahnavard has been condemned by Mashhad’s Revolutionary Court. Internationally, the tribunals have been chastised for not allowing persons on trial to select their own counsel or even examine the evidence against them.
Rahnavard was convicted of “moharebeh,” a Farsi phrase that means “waging war against God.” Since 1979, others have faced this accusation, which carries the death penalty.
On Thursday, Iran executed the first prisoner seized during rallies. In the midst of the tumult, Iran’s rial currency has dropped to new lows against the US dollar.
Iran is one of the world’s most brutal executioners. It routinely hangs captives. Amnesty International has already stated that it had a paper signed by one top Iranian police officer requesting an investigation.
Iran is one of the world’s most ruthless executioners. In most cases, convicts are executed by hanging. Amnesty International has already received a paper signed by a top Iranian police commander requesting that one prisoner’s execution be “finished ‘in the shortest feasible period’ and that his death sentence be carried out in public as a ‘heart-warming gesture for the security forces.'”
