Iran temporarily suspends one protest-linked execution

Iran's supreme court has temporarily suspended the execution of death row convict Mohammad Boroghani who was found guilty of charges related to the country's wave of protests, the judiciary said Wednesday.

The ruling came after the defendant's lawyer "filed a request for the resumption of the legal proceedings for his client", said the judiciary's Mizan Online news agency.

Reports of Mohammad Mehdi Karami’s execution are horrific. He is not the only one, but we sponsored him. The death penalty is abhorrent. To rush to execute is an atrocity. This is a further act of terror against the people of Iran. The IRGC should be proscribed accordingly. pic.twitter.com/niyNTwvW0I

— Keith Wolahan MP (@keithwolahan) January 7, 2023

Boroghani, whose trial opened on October 29, was accused of wounding a security officer with a knife, torching a state office in Pakdasht southeast of Tehran and "sowing terror among the citizens".

He was found guilty of "moharebeh", or "war against God", and condemned to death, a sentence upheld by the supreme court on December 6.

According to rights groups outside Iran, he is 19 years old.

Iran has been rocked by protests sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after she was arrested for violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code for women.

Boroghani is one of 18 people sentenced to death in connection with the protests, according to a count compiled by AFP from official announcements.

Of these, four have been executed, sparking an international outcry.