Iran hangs man convicted in connection with 2022 protests

Iranian authorities executed Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkour, a protester detained during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, who was convicted of charges including "enmity against God" and "corruption on earth" following a deadly incident in the southwestern city of Izeh.

The execution was announced on Wednesday, coinciding with the birthday of Kian Pirfalak, a 10-year-old boy who was killed during a violent episode in Izeh in November 2022.

Iranian officials had initially accused Kourkour of involvement in the child’s death, but later revised the charges without formally exonerating him of the killing.

According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, he “was sentenced to death and executed for drawing a weapon with intent to kill and intimidate the public, spreading corruption on earth through committing crimes by firing a military weapon, and forming and joining an armed group in rebellion against the state."

Kourkour’s execution proceeded despite widespread concerns raised by human rights groups and denials of wrongdoing by the victim’s family.

Disputed case and international outcry

Kourkour was arrested in December 2022 during a raid in the village of Persourakh near Izeh. The judiciary accused him of involvement in the shooting incident in the Izeh market on November 16, 2022, which resulted in the deaths of at least seven people, including Kian Pirfalak.

In April 2023, Revolutionary Court of Ahvaz convicted him on charges including enmity against God, corruption on earth, disturbing public order, and mass murder, sentencing him to death three times.

Although Iran’s Supreme Court initially overturned the death sentences in March 2024 and referred the case back for review, following procedural steps, the court reaffirmed the death penalties, which were ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have criticized the legal proceedings, citing denial of legal representation, allegations of forced confessions, and the use of capital punishment as a political tool.

The family of Kian Pirfalak, whose death became a symbol of the 2022 protests, has consistently rejected the state’s narrative implicating Kourkour.

His mother, Mahmonir Molaei-Rad, and father, Meysam Pirfalak, have both publicly held security forces responsible for the shooting that killed their son and left the father severely injured.

In a widely circulated video, Meysam Pirfalak said: “We have no complaint against Mojahed Kourkour. We saw with our own eyes that security forces opened fire on our car.”

Kourkour is the 11th person executed in connection with the nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Among those previously executed are Mohammad Mehdi Karami, Mohsen Shekari, and Majidreza Rahnavard, all sentenced on similar charges.

Iran accounted for 64% of all known global executions in 2024, with at least 972 people executed, according to Amnesty International, in what the rights group says is the government's ongoing campaign of mass suppression of dissent.