Iranian officials may be planning to quickly execute some protesters after several were charged with crimes punishable by death, according to the NGO Iran Human Rights.
"A protester has been sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court, according to official reports. Evidence indicates that Islamic Republic authorities may be planning to carry out hasty executions. At least 20 protesters are currently facing charges punishable by death per official reports," the organization said in an article on Monday.
The article goes on to cite Iran's judiciary website and said that "an unnamed protester has been sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh (enmity against god) through arson of a government building and efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) by the Revolutionary Court. From previous official reports from protester trials, Manouchehr Mehman Navaz and Mohammad Boroughani have both been tried for charges of moharebeh for arson of government buildings."
The report from the NGO comes amid ongoing protests in Iran sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman that died after she was arrested in Iran's capital of Tehran for wearing a hijab that was considered "improper" by authorities.
As the protests across Iran have continued, lawmakers recently signed a letter calling on the country to "show no leniency" to any of the protesters.
"We, the representatives of this nation, ask all state officials, including the judiciary, to treat those, who waged war [against the Islamic establishment] and attacked people's life and property like the Daesh [terrorists], in a way that would serve as a good lesson in the shortest possible time," the lawmakers reportedly wrote in the letter.
In a tweet on Monday, Iran's main opposition party, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, shared a video of protesters calling for the death of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.
"Locals were chanting in the streets in the hours after midnight local time. 'Death to Khamenei!' 'This is the year Seyed Ali (Khamenei) is overthrown!'" the tweet said.
In the article published on Monday, the Iran Human Rights NGO said, "Underlining the Islamic Republic's history of using the death penalty to create societal fear, Iran Human Rights warns of the possibility of hasty executions without any prewarning. The organisation calls on the international community to prevent such crimes with timely action."
In response to the ongoing protests and response from the Iranian government, the U.S. Treasury Department announced last month that it was imposing sanctions for some Iranian officials.
"The United States is imposing new sanctions on Iranian officials overseeing organizations involved in violent crackdowns and killings, including of children, as part of our commitment to hold all levels of the Iranian government accountable for its repression," Under Secretary of the Treasury Brian E. Nelson said in a statement last month.
Newsweek reached out to the Iran Human Rights NGO and the Iranian Foreign Ministry for comment.
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