DUBAI, April 5 - Iran executed two men who had been convicted of seeking to break into a military facility and gain access to an armoury during the January unrest, the judiciary's Mizan news outlet reported on Sunday.
The executed men were named as Mohammadamin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast. According to the outlet, Iran's Supreme Court confirmed the death sentences against the two defendants.
Mizan said the men were among demonstrators who attempted to steal weapons and military equipment and described them as among "rioters who sought to commit mass murder" by trying to seize armaments from the facility.
Rights organisation Amnesty International has said Biglari and Vahedparast were part of a group of four individuals in the same case who faced execution. Amnesty's reporting also indicates that other defendants linked to the same unrest remain under threat of execution.
Last week, Iran executed an 18-year-old, Amirhossein Hatami, who was convicted in the same case arising from nationwide anti-government demonstrations. Those protests were met with a broad crackdown by the Islamic Republic, described in reporting as the biggest such response in the country's history.
Amnesty has issued a recent report stating that 11 men face the risk of imminent execution for their alleged participation in the protests. The rights group added that many of those convicted were "subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention" prior to conviction, and that the trials which led to their sentences were "grossly unfair" and relied on forced confessions.
Details in official reports and human rights statements underscore continuing legal and humanitarian concerns surrounding the prosecutions that followed the January unrest. The cases involve allegations tied to attempts to obtain military-grade weapons and equipment, while rights groups point to irregularities in detention and trial procedures.
Public information released by Iran's judiciary and Amnesty International formed the factual basis for the developments outlined above. Where the available material is limited, observers rely on those official and rights-group statements to gauge the status of prosecutions and the number of individuals at risk.
Key factual points:
- Two men, Mohammadamin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast, were executed after their death sentences were upheld by Iran's Supreme Court.
- The judiciary's Mizan news outlet said the defendants tried to break into a military facility to access weapons and military equipment and described them as "rioters who sought to commit mass murder."
- Amnesty International reported the two were among a group of four in the same case who faced execution and warned that 11 men face a risk of imminent execution following trials the group characterized as grossly unfair.