Tehran: Judiciary in Iran has sentenced to death five people over the killing of a Basij paramilitary force member during nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death. Another 11 people, including three children, were handed lengthy jail terms over the murder, judiciary spokesman Massoud Setayeshi said. Prosecutors said Ajamian, 27, was stripped naked and killed by a group of mourners who had been paying tribute to a slain protester, Hadis Najafi. Najafi had been killed on September 21, five days into the wave of protests that erupted across Iran after the death of Amini, following her arrest by the morality police for an alleged breach of the country’s hijab dress code for women. Iran has struggled to quell the protests and street violence.
According to the judiciary spokesman, Ajamian passed away on November 3 in Karaj, a city west of Tehran, after being attacked with "knives, stones, fists, kicks," and being dragged down the street. He was a member of the Basij, a group of state-approved volunteers connected to Iran's potent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The five sentenced to death were convicted of “corruption on earth”. The other 11, including a woman, were convicted for “their role in the riots” and received long jail terms, said Setayeshi. The latest court rulings bring to 11 the number of people sentenced to death in Iran over the protests.
