Iran executes two men amidst nationwide protests since September

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Iran said it executed two men Saturday convicted of allegedly killing a paramilitary volunteer during a demonstration. The latest executions aimed at halting the nationwide protests now challenging the country's theocracy.

Iran's judiciary identified those executed as Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini, making it four men known to have been executed since the demonstrations began in September over the death of Mahsa Amini. All have faced internationally criticised, rapid, closed-door trials. The judiciary's news agency said the men had been convicted of killing Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's volunteer Basij force, in the city of Karaj outside of Tehran on November 3.

Also Read: At least 448 killed in Iran protests: Rights group

Heavily edited footage aired on state television showed Karami speaking before a Revolutionary Court about the attack. Activists say at least 16 people have been sentenced to death in closed-door hearings over charges linked to the protests. Death sentences in Iran are typically carried out by hanging. At least 517 protesters have been killed and over 19,200 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has closely monitored the unrest. Iranian authorities have not provided an official count of those killed or detained. Also on Saturday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed a new hard-line chief of police.

517
Number of protesters that have been killed

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