Iran defies outcry – second execution linked to protests

 In defiance of a worldwide uproar over its use of the death penalty against anyone associated with the movement, Iran killed a second man on Monday in connection with protests that have rocked the regime for months. 

While going forward with a fresh round of sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on Tehran, EU foreign ministers denounced Iran for its use of drone deliveries to Russia and its crackdown on anti-government demonstrations. 

Josep Borrell, the head of international policy for the EU, stated that his organization "would take all action we can to assist young women and nonviolent demonstrations." 

"With this sanctions package, we are targeting, in particular, those who are guilty of the killings, the violence against innocent people... these are mainly the Revolutionary Guards," stated German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. 

Majidreza Rahnavard was publicly hanged on Monday, demonstrating how quickly the Iranian government is now carrying out death penalties given to people captured during protests it wants to put an end to. 

According to the judiciary's Mizan Online news agency, Rahnavard, 23, was found guilty of using a knife to slay two members of the security forces and injure four others and was given the death penalty by a court in Mashhad. 

According to rights organizations, he was put to death less than three weeks after his detention in November. 

The execution of 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari on Thursday for inflicting bodily harm on a member of the security forces marked the first time the death sentence had been applied to a protester. The hanging occurred only four days later. 

Germany's Baerbock stated that "these killings are an obvious attempt to scare individuals, not for committing crimes but simply for voicing their thoughts in public and for simply wanting to live in freedom." 

Photos of Rahnavard's execution provided by Mizan depict a guy hanging from a rope attached to a crane with his hands bound behind his back. 

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the Norwegian organization Iran Human Rights, claimed Rahnavard "was sentenced to death based on coerced confessions after a profoundly unjust process and a show trial." 

"A young protester's public execution 23 days after his detention is another severe crime perpetrated by the regime's officials and a substantial increase in the degree of brutality against protestors," he continued. 

The protests started after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian who had been detained by the morality police, died while in jail on September 16.