In Iran, a man has been executed for alleged espionage for the Israeli intelligence service Mossad and for violence during anti-regime protests. The semi-official news agency Tasnim reported that Erfan Kiani was executed early Saturday morning after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence.
According to the reports, Kiani was accused of acting as a “hired thug of Mossad,” destroying and setting fire to public and private property in the central Iranian city of Isfahan. The execution comes amid an intensified wave of executions that began after nationwide protests in January. In recent weeks, people in Iran have repeatedly been executed under similar accusations.
Human rights organizations have strongly criticized this practice for years. Organizations such as Amnesty International and Iran Human Rights (IHR) accuse the Iranian regime of deliberately using death sentences as a deterrent. They view the current wave of executions as an attempt to intimidate the population following the protests and suppress further resistance.
According to IHR, at least 1,639 people were executed in Iran last year—the highest number in more than three decades. The organization particularly criticizes proceedings that are often conducted behind closed doors and in a short period of time. IHR repeatedly reports confessions that are said to have been obtained under torture.
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