Iran Hands Down Second Death Sentence Over 'Riots'

People hold up signs during a rally in support of the demonstrations in Iran at the Place de la République in Paris. (Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)
People hold up signs during a rally in support of the demonstrations in Iran at the Place de la République in Paris. (Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)
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Iran Hands Down Second Death Sentence Over 'Riots'

People hold up signs during a rally in support of the demonstrations in Iran at the Place de la République in Paris. (Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)
People hold up signs during a rally in support of the demonstrations in Iran at the Place de la République in Paris. (Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)

An Iranian court has issued a second death sentence in three days against a "rioter" for violence linked to protests that flared over Mahsa Amini's death, the judiciary said.

"A revolutionary court sentenced to death another defendant accused of terrorizing people in the street using a bladed weapon, setting fire to the motorcycle of a citizen, and attacking a person with a knife," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said late Tuesday.

"The accused is an enemy of God for using bladed weapons that caused terror," it reported.

Iran on Sunday handed down the first death sentence over the protests that erupted on September 16, when Amini died in custody after her arrest for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's dress code for women.

Among the charges issued against the first convict were "setting fire to a government building, disturbing public order, assembly and conspiracy to commit a crime against national security," as well as for being "an enemy of God and corruption on earth", Mizan said at the time.

Five others were sentenced to prison terms of between five to 10 years for "gathering and conspiring to commit crimes against national security and disturbing public order", Mizan said.



Zelensky to Visit White House Under Shadow of Trump Spat

FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
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Zelensky to Visit White House Under Shadow of Trump Spat

FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will present his "victory plan" to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Thursday, but a blazing row with Donald Trump underscored how the US election could soon upend support for Kyiv.
Zelensky's trip to the White House is set to feature the announcement of a surge in US support, although it is unclear whether he will get the green light he wants for Ukraine to fire US-made long-range missiles into Russia.
Republican presidential contender Trump, who faces Democratic Vice President Harris in November's close election, had also been due to meet Zelensky but their talks now appear to be on ice, said AFP.
Trump accused Zelensky on the eve of the visit of refusing to strike a deal with Moscow and once again questioned why the United States was giving billions of dollars to Kyiv.
Biden will host Zelensky in the Oval Office at 1:45 pm local time (1745 GMT), the White House said. The Ukrainian leader and Harris will deliver remarks at 3:05 pm before their meeting in the vice president's office.
Zelensky was also due to visit the US Congress.
During a meeting at the United Nations on Wednesday, Biden "informed president Zelensky that he has directed a surge in US security assistance to Ukraine, which will be announced publicly" on Thursday, the White House said.
Zelensky gave a defiant address at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in a bid to rally international support amid an increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield.
The Ukrainian has for several weeks touted the so-called "victory plan" he will present to Biden, but has given no details of his proposals to end the war, which is now in its third year.
'Greatest salesman'
The United States has provided around $175 billion in both military and economic assistance to Ukraine during the war, despite frequent opposition from Republicans.
The Biden administration announced another $375 million on Wednesday, including munitions for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, cluster munitions and light tactical vehicles.
But Zelensky has been pushing the United States hard to give the green light for Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory -- permission Biden has so far refused.
Russia has strongly warned against such a step. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday unveiled new rules meaning Moscow would consider using nuclear weapons in response to a massive air attack.
Kyiv has relied on the United States as its main military backer, but the knife-edge US election on November 5 means that support may now hang in the balance.
Trump has echoed many of Putin's talking points about previous US policy being to blame for the Russian invasion, and has been critical of Zelensky for years.
At an election rally on Wednesday, the Republican called the Ukrainian president "probably the greatest salesman on Earth."
"We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal, Zelensky," he said.
Republicans were livid after Zelensky told The New Yorker magazine this week Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance did not understand the war's complexity.
Trump has claimed that he could arrange a peace deal within 24 hours if elected, but Kyiv fears it would involve ceding swathes of territory seized by Russia.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has declined a meeting with Zelensky in Congress, called on the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States to quit on Wednesday after Zelensky visited an arms factory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania with the state's Democratic governor.
Johnson accused the ambassador of having deliberately excluded Republicans.