Iran Supreme Court upholds death penalty for Guard volunteer in 2022 protest killing
- A member of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was sentenced to death for killing a man during the 2022 protests over Mahsa Amini's death.
- The protests led to a violent crackdown by security forces, resulting in over 500 deaths and 22,000 detentions.
- This ruling represents a rare moment of accountability for security forces in Iran amid widespread criticism of their actions.
Iran's Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence for a member of the Basij, a paramilitary group, who was involved in the killing of a 60-year-old man during the protests following Mahsa Amini's death in 2022. The incident occurred when the Basij member and others stormed the victim's home in Karaj, seeking demonstrators, and shot him in the head. This ruling is significant as it marks a rare instance of accountability for security forces amid a broader crackdown on dissent, which resulted in over 500 deaths and more than 22,000 detentions. The protests erupted after Amini's death, which was attributed to the morality police's enforcement of hijab laws. The Iranian government has faced international criticism for its violent suppression of protests, with a U.N. report accusing Tehran of committing crimes against humanity. In a related case, another security force member received a death sentence for a separate killing during the protests, indicating a potential shift in how Iran addresses violence by its security personnel.