Protesters gathered outside a prison in the northern city of Karaj in Iran after reports that two inmates had been transferred to solitary confinement ahead of their execution, News agency reported quoting protest monitor 1500tasvir.
The report said that a crowd, including the mother of death-row inmate Mohammad Ghobadlou, protested in front of Gohardasht prison “to save the lives” of him and another prisoner, Mohammad Boroghani. Both of them were convicted of attacks on security forces. Their appeals have been rejected earlier.
UN human rights office said it was “seriously concerned at news of imminent execution” of the two men while judiciary’s Mizan website accused “hostile media” of reporting “rumours” of their planned execution.
“The enforcement of these convicts’ sentences is not currently on the agenda due to incomplete legal proceedings,” it said.
Meanwhile, Iran also has handed three more death sentences for offences related to the anti-hijab protests in the country that began in September last year following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
With this, the total number of detainees condemned to death in Iran amid nationwide protests rose to 17. Four executions have been carried out, while six of those convicted have been granted retrials, Reuters reported, whereas at least 109 protesters who are now in detention have been sentenced to death or face charges that may carry capital punishment.