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Symbolic image: Iran hangs two men over Isfahan police deaths as 1,500 prisoners strikeSymbolic image

Iran hangs two men over Isfahan police deaths as 1,500 prisoners strike

4 sources

Iran's judiciary hanged two men convicted over the deaths of police officers during January's protests in Isfahan, after crowds gathered at the site and were dispersed by security forces. At Ghezel Hesar prison near Tehran, at least 1,500 death row prisoners are on hunger strike, one having his lips sewn shut. Rights groups count at least 424 executions in Iran this year.

What happened

Iran's judiciary hanged Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi before dawn on Tuesday, its Mizan Online site said. Both were convicted over unrest on 8 January at Shahid Alikhani Square in Isfahan, where the authorities say four police officers died; the Guardian reports the two were sentenced for "waging war on God" over the deaths of two officers. Tasnim reported that Iran had already executed two other men in the same case.

The Centre for Human Rights in Iran said people gathered at the site after iron scaffolding was erected, and security forces on motorbikes cleared them before the hangings; Hengaw reported injuries and arrests. Video of the scene circulating online is unverified. At Ghezel Hesar prison near Tehran, at least 1,500 death row prisoners began a hunger strike two weeks ago after six men convicted on drug charges were moved to solitary confinement, and videos released by exiled rights groups show one prisoner having his lips stitched shut. IHRNGO counts at least 424 executions this year.

The view from outside

The National (UAE) leads with the crowd that tried to stop the hangings and with Hengaw's report of injuries and arrests, while also reproducing Mizan's list of allegations. Serbia's Politika relays only the Tasnim version: armed demonstrators attacked police, burned public property and blocked roads, and the court named the two as leading participants.

What could happen next

Rights organisations and opposition groups warn that more people detained in January could be hanged. The Ghezel Hesar strikers say no prison official has answered them and that guards keep deteriorating prisoners from the infirmary. IHRNGO ties this year's spike to the war with the US; one source in Tehran told the Guardian that executions intensified after the 6 April ceasefire, and the US halted its bombing campaign at the weekend while threatening to resume strikes unless talks progress. Amnesty says the revolutionary courts that handle security and drug cases lack independence, and the remaining death sentences run through that same system.

How the camps see it

  • Iranian authorities: The judiciary calls the Isfahan case a violent attack on security forces and says the convictions rest on police reports, phone records, witness testimony, confessions and crime-scene reconstructions, upheld by the Supreme Court.

  • Prisoners and Iranian rights groups: Hengaw, IHRNGO and the Centre for Human Rights in Iran say the men were tortured into confessions and denied fair trials, and the Ghezel Hesar strikers demand an end to executions.

Also involved

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