Iran Top Court Accepts Protester’s Appeal against Death Sentence 

A protester shows red paint in her face, resembling blood splatters and bloody handprints next to the national Iranian emblem, during a rally in solidarity with Iranian protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, in Berlin, Germany, 07 October 2022. (EPA)
A protester shows red paint in her face, resembling blood splatters and bloody handprints next to the national Iranian emblem, during a rally in solidarity with Iranian protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, in Berlin, Germany, 07 October 2022. (EPA)
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Iran Top Court Accepts Protester’s Appeal against Death Sentence 

A protester shows red paint in her face, resembling blood splatters and bloody handprints next to the national Iranian emblem, during a rally in solidarity with Iranian protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, in Berlin, Germany, 07 October 2022. (EPA)
A protester shows red paint in her face, resembling blood splatters and bloody handprints next to the national Iranian emblem, during a rally in solidarity with Iranian protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, in Berlin, Germany, 07 October 2022. (EPA)

Iran’s Supreme Court has accepted a protester’s appeal against his death sentence for allegedly damaging public property during anti-government demonstrations, and sent his case back for review, the judiciary said on Saturday. 

Noor Mohammadzadeh, 25, was arrested on Oct. 4, and sentenced to death two months later on the charge of “waging war against God” for allegedly trying to break a highway guardrail in Tehran and setting a rubbish bin on fire. 

He rejected the accusations, saying he was forced to confess to his guilt and went on a hunger strike two weeks ago. 

Iran has already executed two people involved in unrest that erupted in September after the death in custody of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by morality police enforcing the country’s strict dress code for women. 

Amnesty International has said Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 26 others in what the campaign group has said is a push to intimidate protesters. 

Iranian authorities have blamed Iran's foreign enemies and their agents for orchestrating the disturbances. 

“The Supreme Court has accepted the appeal of Sahand Noor Mohammadzadeh, one of the accused in the recent riots. His case has been sent to the same branch of the Revolutionary Court for review,” the judiciary’s Mizan news agency said on Twitter. 

Last week, the Supreme Court accepted the death sentence appeal of rapper Saman Seydi Yasin but confirmed the same sentence against protester Mohammad Qobadloo. 

Earlier this month it suspended the death sentence of protester Mahan Sadrat, who had been charged with various alleged offences including stabbing a security officer and setting fire to a motorcycle. 

Iran hanged two protesters earlier this month: Mohsen Shekari, 23, who was accused of blocking a main road in September and wounding a member of the paramilitary Basij force with a knife; and Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, who was accused of stabbing two Basij members to death. 

Rahnavard was publicly hanged from a construction crane. 

Rights group HRANA said that, as of Friday, 508 protesters had been killed, including 69 minors. It said 66 members of the security forces had also been killed. As many as 19,199 protesters are believed to have been arrested, it said. 

Iranian officials have said that up to 300 people, including members of the security forces, had lost their lives in the unrest. 



Delta Plane Flips Upside Down on Landing at Toronto Airport, 18 Injured

A Delta airlines plane sits on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on February 17, 2025. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)
A Delta airlines plane sits on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on February 17, 2025. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)
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Delta Plane Flips Upside Down on Landing at Toronto Airport, 18 Injured

A Delta airlines plane sits on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on February 17, 2025. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)
A Delta airlines plane sits on its roof after crashing upon landing at Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on February 17, 2025. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)

A Delta Air Lines regional jet flipped upside down upon landing at Canada's Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday amid windy weather following a snowstorm, injuring 18 of the 80 people on board, officials said.
Three people on flight DL4819 from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport suffered critical injuries, among them a child, a Canadian air ambulance official said, with 15 others also immediately taken to hospitals.
Some of the injured have since been released, Delta said late on Monday.
The US carrier said a CRJ900 aircraft operated by its Endeavor Air subsidiary was involved in a single-aircraft accident with 76 passengers and four crew members on board.
The 16-year-old CRJ900, made by Canada's Bombardier and powered by GE Aerospace engines, can seat up to 90 people. At least one of the two wings was no longer attached to the plane, video showed after the accident.
Canadian authorities said they would investigate the cause of the crash, which was not yet known.
The Delta plane touched down in Toronto at 2:13 p.m. (1913 GMT) after an 86-minute flight and came to rest near the intersection of runway 23 and runway 15, FlightRadar24 data showed.
The reported weather conditions at time of the crash indicated a "gusting crosswind and blowing snow," the flight tracking website said.
Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said late on Monday the runway was dry and there were no crosswind conditions, but several pilots Reuters spoke to who had seen videos of the incident pushed back against this comment.
US aviation safety expert and pilot John Cox said there was an average crosswind of 19 knots (22 mph) from the right as it was landing, but he noted this was an average, and gusts would go up and down.
"It's gusty so they are constantly going to have to be making adjustments in the air speed, adjustments in the vertical profile and adjustments in the lateral profile," he said of the pilots, adding that "it's normal for what professional pilots do."
Investigators would try to figure out why the right wing separated from the plane, Cox said.

Flights have resumed at Toronto Pearson, but airport president Deborah Flint said on Monday evening there would be some operational impact and delays over the next few days while two runways remained closed for the investigation.
She attributed the absence of fatalities in part to the work of first responders at the airport.
"We are very grateful that there is no loss of life and relatively minor injuries," she said at a press conference.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said it was deploying a team of investigators, and the US National Transportation Safety Board said a team of investigators would assist Canada's TSB.
Global aviation standards require a preliminary investigation report to be published within 30 days of an accident.