Iran has executed Reza (Gholamreza) Rasayi who was sentenced to death in connection with mass protests against the clerical establishment, the judiciary says.
The 34 years-old Kurdish man of the Yarsani faith was arrested in relation to the death of IRGC member Nader Beirami at a ceremony held for Yarsani leader, Seyed Khalil Alinejad, which people used as an opportunity to protest, holding “Woman, Life, Freedom” signs.
Authorities falsely claimed the gathering, which they violently crushed, was unrelated to protests.
Reza was the first defendant in a group trial of 11 defendants for charges of “participating in the murder of Nader Beirami with a cold weapon, participating in intentional bodily harm to the aforementioned with a knife and participating in disruption of public order by creating conflict, controversy and uproar” at Branch 2 of the Kermanshah province Criminal Court.
In court documents obtained by Iranian human rights NGOs, Reza denies the charges but after “investigations” he confesses to stabbing the officer. His co-defendants in the case were compelled to testify against Reza and were subsequently released or faced lighter sentences.
One defendant later stated that he never saw Reza stab the victim and his testimony was made “out of fear.” Reza did not testify against anyone else himself and denied the charges in later investigations and in court, stating clearly that his confessions had been extracted under torture.
All other defendants also later retracted their testimonies which had been made “under torture.” The court also dismissed two expert testimonies in Reza’s favour including that of the Kermanshah Forensic Medical Examiner whose testimony meant the fatal blow could not have been committed by Reza.
The September 2022 death in police custody of Jina Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly flouting Iran's mandatory dress code, sparked months of anti-government protests in the biggest show of opposition to the Shi'ite clerical authorities in years.
