Iran has carried out its first execution related to nationwide protests that have rocked the regime. A man accused of attacking a member of the security forces during chaotic demonstrations in Tehran has been hanged. Citing Iran’s Mizan news agency, the Associated Press identified the man as Mohsen Shekari, who was arrested on Sept. 25 and convicted on Nov. 20 of “waging war against God.” Activists have called the case against him a “show trial” and warned that he was never given due process. He was nabbed at the height of protests that erupted over the Sept. 16 death of a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who was arrested by the country’s morality police. The ensuing protests, seen as the biggest challenge to Iranian leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, were met with a harsh response. A day before Shekari’s execution, the Revolutionary Guards called on the judiciary to send a stern message to “rioters, thugs, terrorists” by swiftly handing down judgements against those accused of “crimes against the security of the nation and Islam.”
