Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Iran’s judiciary handed down three more death sentences to people involved in anti-government protests after the death of a woman who allegedly violated the country’s strict headscarf rules, the judiciary website Mizan Online reported. This comes after Iran’s Revolutionary Court handed down its first death sentence on Sunday for taking part in anti-regime protests. The unnamed prisoner was charged with setting fire to a government building, disturbing public order, committing a crime against national security and being an “enemy of God and corruption on Earth.” The three inmates with the new death sentences will be able to appeal their verdicts, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media. This is the first time that the protests in Iran are not about a specific economic or political issue, but the Islamic Republic itself, Vali Nasr, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s school of advanced international studies, told CNBC. “A whole younger generation is questioning rules like the headscarf, and the government in Iran is trying hard to manage the protests,” Nasr said. “The protests are starting to attract US and European media attention and intense criticism of Iran. This could potentially bring a whole new set of sanctions on Iran to crack down on.”
Iran’s judiciary announced last week that 1,024 indictments had been issued in connection with the protests in Tehran province alone, Amnesty International said in a report published on Wednesday. The human rights group added that 21 detainees have been charged with security-related offenses punishable by death, and Iranian officials are trying to speed up the process to publicly execute them. Protests against the Iranian government erupted two months ago when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by the country’s “morality police” for inappropriate clothing. Iranian authorities have claimed no wrongdoing and say Amini died of a heart attack. but her family, and masses of Iranians, accuse the government of a cover-up. Women and students played a key role in the protests, waving and burning headscarves in solidarity with Amini and in retaliation against the country’s strict dress code for women.

Execution rates

Just behind China, Iran has the second highest number of recorded executions, Amnesty International said. Iran Human Rights reported that at least 333 people were executed in 2021, and Amnesty reported that 14 of them were women. Two different groups of people have been involved in the ongoing protests – those yearning for a change in the regime’s strict code of conduct and “the real agitators,” said Asif Ahuja, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. Ahuja said the ongoing protests are based on a very “legitimate demand” from women who really want the mandatory headscarf rule to be lifted. “They just want to forget about the state and live like the rest of the world.” “We are starting to see young boys and girls posting pictures of themselves kissing on the streets… This is unheard of… It shows the intensity of the protests, they just want to be free,” Ahuja added. However, there are protesters who “are not swayed by emotion or euphoria, but are the real troublemakers” who incite chaos in these once peaceful protests. When asked if the Iranian court would go through with these executions or if these are empty threats, Ahuja said they will be carried out and the government is actually “very generous in doing so.”

Canada’s Trudeau was duped by misinformation

Earlier this week, a false claim that Iran had sentenced 15,000 protesters to death was widely circulated on social media. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was one of the public figures to tweet about the fake news. The post said: “Canada condemns the Iranian regime’s barbaric decision to execute nearly 15,000 protesters. These brave Iranians were fighting for their human rights — and we continue to stand united in their support and united against the regime’s heinous actions. “ His tweet was removed just 11 hours later, but had already been shared by thousands. — CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan and NBC’s Ben Goggin contributed to this report.