An Iranian trial court sentenced to death a demonstrator who took part in anti-regime protests.
Arshia Takdastan was alleged to have led a “crowd in the main square of the city of Nowshahr and committed significant criminal acts,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.
He was charged with “corruption on earth” and “moharebeh,” or “enmity against God,” both capital offenses in Iran.
Iranian officials have been referring to demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of the morality police after being arrested for allegedly breaking the country’s dress code, as “riots.”
The protests had spilled over to more than 160 Iranian cities.
Since the beginning of the protests, which erupted on Sep.16, 2022, the judiciary has sentenced 14 protesters to death, according to an AFP tally based on official information.
So far, at least 516 protesters have been killed and 19,260 others arrested, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
HRANA said the death toll included 70 minors, who died in the unrest as security forces tried to stifle widespread dissent.
In other news, Iranian media reported about a proposed draft to change the country’s hijab law.
The reports emerged hours after a speech by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about refraining from ostracizing or targeting women with “loose hijabs.”
The draft proposes punishing women who do not wear the hijab in public places according to the Code of Criminal Procedure after filing charges.
“Hijab is a law in our country that must be observed, but whoever has an objection against this law must express his protest and send a bill to parliament,” the Fars News Agency reported Ali Nikzad, the deputy Iranian parliament speaker, as saying.
