Iran sentences two youths to death over 2022 protests, rights group says

Mohammad Darvish Narouei, 22, and Yasin Kebdani, 21, were convicted by a court in Zahedan in southeastern Iran of “waging war against God” and “corruption on Earth,” the rights group reported, adding they face imminent execution if the sentences are upheld.

A third detainee, Benyamin Kouhkan, who was 16 at the time of his arrest, has also been tried and placed in solitary confinement with his verdict pending.

All three were tortured and denied access to legal counsel, the group said.

Separately on Monday, Norway-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported that two other Baloch political prisoners, Farhad Baranzahi, 24, and Omran Aghal, 22, have been sentenced to death in Zahedan on charges of "membership in armed opposition groups."

Both men were allegedly tortured into confessing and remain held in Zahedan Central Prison, according to IHR.

Last month, five men detained in connection with 2022 protests in Iran were sentenced to death by a court in the city of Urmia, according to France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).

The unrest was sparked by the death in morality police custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini. Protests were quashed with deadly force.

At least eleven protesters have been executed in Iran in connection with the 2022 uprising, with the most recent execution carried out in June.

On June 11, Iranian authorities executed Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkour, who was detained in connection with the November 2022 protests in the southwestern city of Izeh.

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

Last week, the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights reported on that at least 730 people have been executed in Iranian prisons over the past seven months, including 102 in July alone.