Young Iranian Man Executed Over Alleged Killing of IRGC Member

The authorities in Iran’s central province of Hamedan have executed a man who had been sentenced to death for allegedly murdering a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during nationwide protests last year.

Citing informed sources, the human rights website Hengaw reported on November 23 that the IRGC prevented the delivery of Milad Zohrehvand's body to his family, saying that no funeral should be held.

The prosecutor of Hamadan earlier announced that the death sentence handed to Zohrehvand for allegedly killing an IRGC member identified as Ali Nazari had been upheld. 

Details regarding Nazari's death are sketchy, with the government officials and judicial authorities in Hamadan province providing different versions of the incident.

News agencies such as Mizan, IRNA, ISNA did not report about Nazari's death and the arrest of several suspects until September 27 this year. 

Zohrehvand, born in 2002, was employed as an asphalt worker. His name captured media attention after he was sentenced to death for being the "main suspect" in the death of an IRGC member.

His first child was born while his father was in detention.

The young man faced pressure to “confess” to being a "rioter" and was denied access to legal representation. 

More than 500 people were killed by security forces and over 20,000 were unlawfully detained during the unrest that rocked Iran for months.

Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.