Iran sentences anti-government protestor to death

Iran's judiciary has sentenced an individual to death for their involvement in recent anti-government protests.

This is the first known instance of Tehran using the death penalty to punish those who have participated in the nationwide protests, sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. 

The unidentified person was accused of setting a government building on fire and was sentenced to death for "disturbing public order and comfort, community and colluding to commit a crime against national security", according to the judiciary's website Mizan Online.

The court ruling also stated that five other people were sentenced to between five and ten years in jail for violating public order or compromising national security.

#Iran: Court pronounced yesterday first death sentence against protester. A new step in the brutal repression against largely peace protests - as thousands others are detained.https://t.co/BrsgWsCShN pic.twitter.com/gEzcBrhZzc

— Philippe Dam (@philippe_dam) November 14, 2022

The UN has called on Iran not to use the death penalty as a weapon to halt the anti-government demonstrations. 

"We urge Iranian authorities to stop using the death penalty as a tool to squash protests," the UN said in a statement last week. 

Iranian security forces have been accused of killing hundreds of protesters in their crackdown, some allegedly in custody.

The protests were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who was reportedly beaten to death by Iran's so-called morality police after being arrested for allegedly wearing her headscarf 'improperly'. 

Her death in September led to nationwide demonstrations against the government and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Iran's security forces have been filmed entering schools and universities to violently beat demonstrators. 

The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights has said that at least 326 people have so far been killed, while UN figures show that around 14,000 people have been arrested.