A prominent Sunni Muslim cleric has urged the Iranian authorities to free thousands of detained protesters and stop executions as the three-month-old unrest churned on with street marches in a restive southeastern province.
Amnesty International said 26 people faced possible execution after the Islamic Republic hanged two people arrested over the protests that erupted after the death in police custody of young Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16.
The unrest, in which demonstrators from all walks of life have called for the fall of Iran’s ruling theocracy, poses one of the biggest challenges to the Shi’ite Muslim-ruled Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
“At least 26 people are at great risk of execution in connection with nationwide protests after Iranian authorities arbitrarily executed two individuals following grossly unfair sham trials in a bid to instil fear among the public and end protests,”—Reuters
