TEHRAN: Iran on Monday executed a man who was convicted of acting on behalf of Israel and the United States during a wave of anti‑government protests earlier this year, the judiciary reported.
According to the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, Ali Fahim — described as one of the “enemy elements” involved in the January protests known as the Dey riots — was hanged after the Supreme Court reviewed the case and upheld the verdict.
The execution is the latest in a series of capital punishments linked to the protests that began in late December over rising living costs and gradually turned into nationwide demonstrations. The unrest reached its peak on January 8 and 9.
The carrying out of the sentence also comes amid Iran’s ongoing war with Israel and the United States, which intensified on February 28 following a series of strikes that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mizan Online said Fahim was found guilty of working against Iran “on behalf of the Zionist regime and the United States” and of breaking into a classified military facility in an attempt to seize weapons.Iranian authorities have maintained that the rallies began peacefully in December but later turned into what they describe as foreign‑instigated riots, involving killings and acts of vandalism.
Officials have claimed more than 3,000 people were killed during the unrest, including members of security forces and bystanders. However, the US‑based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that it has documented over 7,000 deaths, the vast majority of whom were protesters, and has warned that the real toll could be even higher.