Six people were sentenced to death for the killing of militiamen during protests in Iran

TEHRAN: An Iranian court sentenced six men to death for killing a member of a paramilitary force during protests over the death in custody of a Kurdish woman in 2022, Fars news agency reported.

Arman Aliverdi, a member of the Basij volunteer militia affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, died from his injuries after being stabbed in Tehran’s Ekbatan district in November 2022.

Fars quoted Babak Paknia, the lawyer of one of the six defendants, as saying that they were given a “primary revenge sentence” for the murder of the 21-year-old young man.

He added that the decision of the 13th Criminal Court could be appealed on the social media platform X.

Aliverdi was killed in September 2022 at the height of months-long protests sparked by the killing of 22-year-old ethnic Kurd Mahsa Amini after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

Hundreds of people, including dozens of security personnel, lost their lives during the demonstrations.

The Islamic republic also sentenced some people to death for allegedly participating in protests and killing security forces.

In August, Iran executed Gholamreza Rasaei, who was found guilty of killing a Revolutionary Guard officer during protests.

His execution brought to 10 the number of people executed for murder or other violent charges during street riots.

Iran executes more people each year than any other country except China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.