Iran executes first person sentenced to death for participating in protests

Iranian authorities announced Thursday the first execution of a prisoner sentenced to death for participating in protests that have rocked the country since mid-September.

Mohsen Shekari was executed early this morning after he was sentenced to death on 29 November for wounding a basiji - an Islamic militiaman - with a knife, blocking a street and creating terror in Tehran, the judiciary's Mizan agency reported.

All of these offences carried a conviction of "war against God", which carries the death penalty, as in this case.

Mizan said the executed man confessed during the trial that he had received "payments" for attacking law enforcement officers and therefore stabbed the militiaman, who required 13 stitches after the attack.

Shekari is the first protester to be executed for his involvement in the protests rocking Iran since the death of Mahsa Amini in mid-September after she was arrested by the Morality Police for wearing the Islamic headscarf incorrectly.

The riots began over the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman, but have evolved and protesters are now calling for an end to the Islamic Republic founded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979.

The judicial authorities have so far sentenced 11 people to death for their participation in the demonstrations and an unknown number to prison terms.

Amnesty International has reported that at least 28 of the 2,000 people charged in the protests face death sentences.

More than 400 people have been killed and at least 15,000 arrested in the nearly three months of protests, according to the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights.