Iran, first protester hanged. Tajani: point of no return

Iran has announced that it has executed the first prisoner officially convicted of an alleged crime following protests in the country following the death of young Kurd Mahsa Amini, who was in Iranian police custody for not wearing the hijab correctly. The prisoner, Mohsen Shekari, was convicted of “intentionally” injuring a security guard with a long knife and blocking a road in the capital, according to Tasnim news agency, and was hanged this morning. Iranian authorities have rejected the detainee’s lawyer’s appeal, deeming it “neither valid nor justified” as they believe he was guilty of “war crimes” by blocking the road, threatening with weapons and confronting officials. Iran’s Supreme Court – which believes the protester’s actions were an “example of hypocrisy” – approved the sentence this morning and enforced it. The magistrates base themselves on alleged statements by witnesses to the incident, who would have assured that those present were very scared by the presence of the armed demonstrator. Justice Department spokesman Masoud Setayeshi explained that eleven other people, including three minors, were sentenced to “long prison sentences” for the same crime, according to the ISNA news agency.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemned the execution in a statement on Twitter: “In Iran, the first death sentence on a protester since the protests began is a point of no return. Italy and its government express strong condemnation. We will continue in all forums, with our diplomatic pressure, to defend the freedom and human rights violated by Tehran”.

Meanwhile, chilling details emerge about the crackdown on dissent. Iranian security forces attack women during anti-government protests, hitting them in the face, breasts and genitals. That’s what the Guardian exclusively reports, reporting that it interviewed doctors across the country. The British newspaper reports that doctors and nurses, who secretly treat protesters to avoid arrest, said they first observed this practice after noticing that women often arrived with different wounds than men, who more commonly came with projectiles in their mouths. legs, buttocks, and back. The Guardian spoke to 10 medical professionals who warned of the seriousness of the injuries that could leave hundreds of young Iranians with permanent damage: blows to the eyes of women, men and children are particularly common. A doctor in the central province of Isfahan said he believed authorities were targeting men and women differently “because they wanted to destroy the beauty of these women”.