Key Points
- Iran has executed a second man involved in anti-government protests.
- Majidreza Rahnavard reportedly killed two members of the security forces with a knife, and wounded four other people.
- A human rights group estimates at least 458 people have been killed by Iran's security forces.
Iran on Monday executed a second man convicted over the protests that have shaken the regime for almost three months, defying an international outcry over its use of capital punishment against those involved in the movement.
Majidreza Rahnavard had been sentenced to death by a court in the city of Mashhad for killing two members of the security forces with a knife, and wounding four other people, the judiciary's Mizan Online news agency reported.
It said he was hanged in public in the city, rather than inside prison.
The latest execution came with global outrage still reverberating after .
Mohsen Shekari, 23, was convicted of attacking a member of the security forces. His hanging prompted angry reactions from Australia, Europe, and the United States.
The weeks of protest were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.
The protests, described by authorities as "riots", represent the biggest challenge to the regime since the shah's ouster in 1979. They have been met with a crackdown that activists say aims to instil public fear.
Prior to the two executions, Iran's judiciary said it had issued death sentences to 11 people in connection with the protests, but campaigners say around a dozen others face charges that could see them also receive the death penalty.
"No due process. Sham trials. That's how they want to stop the nationwide protests," said Omid Memarian, a senior Iran analyst at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) after the latest execution.
Mr Rahnavard was arrested on 19 November while trying to flee the country, according to Mizan. Unconfirmed reports gave his age as 23 years old.
"Majidreza Rahnavard's crime was protesting the murder of Mahsa Amini. The regime's method on dealing with protests is execution. EU recall your ambassadors," said US-based dissident Masih Alinejad.
Iran's use of the death penalty is part of a crackdown that Olso-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) says has seen the security forces kill at least 458 people.
According to the UN, at least 14,000 have been arrested.
Iran is already the world's most prolific user of the death penalty after China, with more than 500 executions this year alone, according to IHR.
But public executions are highly unusual in Iran.
