Rights groups said the trio, who included a teenager who had taken part in international wrestling competitions, were executed without a fair trial and had given confessions under torture.
Iran executed three men on Thursday who were accused of killing police officers during nationwide protests in January, raising fears among activists of a potential surge in hangings as the country faces war with Israel and the United States. The executions mark the first publicized hangings related to the nationwide demonstrations, which were met with a severe crackdown by Iranian authorities.
The men, Mehdi Ghasemi, Saleh Mohammadi, and Saeed Davoudi, were hanged in the city of Qom, south of Tehran, after being convicted of waging war against God, a capital offense under Iran’s sharia known as moharebeh, according to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency. Authorities said the trio were involved in the killing of two police officers and carried out “operational actions” in favor of Israel and the United States.
Rights groups raised immediate concerns over the fairness of the trials. Saleh Mohammadi, a teenage wrestling champion who had competed internationally, was reportedly denied proper legal defense and forced to give confessions during fast-tracked proceedings, according to Amnesty International. Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said the three men were “sentenced to death following an unfair trial, based on confessions obtained under torture,” noting that Mohammadi had just turned 19.
Legal affairs monitor Dadban added that the men were “deprived of effective access to independent counsel and the right to defense,” arguing that under such circumstances, the death penalty amounts to “extrajudicial killing.”
The hangings come a day after the execution of Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national accused of spying for Israel, which drew condemnation from Stockholm and the European Union. That execution was the first publicly announced since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, escalating a conflict that has spread across the Middle East.
Activists warned that Iran could use such executions to intimidate citizens. “We are deeply concerned about the risk of mass executions of protesters and political prisoners in the shadow of war,” said Iran Human Rights. “These executions are carried out to spread fear in society, as the Islamic Republic knows that the main threat to its survival comes from the Iranian people demanding fundamental change.”
The January protests initially erupted over rising living costs and quickly evolved into nationwide anti-government demonstrations, peaking on 8–9 January. Rights groups estimate that thousands of protesters were killed in the crackdown, with the Human Rights Activists News Agency recording over 7,000 deaths, while Tehran acknowledges more than 3,000 fatalities, including security personnel and civilians.
Hundreds of individuals are still facing charges connected to the protests that could carry the death penalty. Iran remains one of the world’s most prolific executioners, with at least 1,500 people hanged last year alone, according to Iran Human Rights.