Iran executes 3 men for protests, confirms judiciary

Iran has executed three men accused of violence during anti-government protests in 2019, despite objections from human rights groups. The men were accused of killing a police officer and two members of the paramilitary Basij group in Isfahan during nationwide protests. Rights groups claim the men were subjected to torture, forced into televised confessions and denied due process. The protests began after the death of a 22-year-old woman who had been detained by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating its strict Islamic dress code. The demonstrations escalated into calls for the overthrow of the theocracy that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has executed seven people in connection with the protests, with rights groups claiming they were convicted by secretive state security courts and denied the right to defend themselves.