Tehran
\nIran was slapped with fresh sanctions on Friday after carrying out its first execution over demonstrations that have shaken the regime for nearly three months, as activists called for fresh protests.
\nMohsen Shekari, 23, was hanged on Thursday after being found guilty of \u201cmoharebeh\u201d, or \u201cenmity against God\u201d, following what rights groups denounced as a show trial, sparking international outcry and warnings that more hangings were imminent.
\nThe judiciary said Shekari was arrested after blocking a Tehran street and striking a member of the Basij paramilitary force linked to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with a machete \u2014 a wound that required 13 stitches.
\nThe Islamic republic said late on Thursday it was exercising \u201cutmost restraint\u201d in the face of the protests that flared over the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, after her arrest for an alleged breach of the country\u2019s strict dress code for women.
\nBritain on Friday announced wide-ranging sanctions against 30 targets worldwide, including officials in Iran whom it accused of pursuing \u201cegregious sentences\u201d against protesters.
\nEuropean diplomats said the EU was also set to impose more sanctions on Iran for drone supplies to Russia and the protest crackdown.
\nThe sanctions are expected to be formally signed off by foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday.
\nAmnesty International said on Thursday it was \u201chorrified\u201d by Shekari\u2019s execution, which followed a \u201cgrossly unfair sham trial\u201d.
\nMahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR), said \u201cShekari was executed after a hasty and unfair trial without a lawyer.\u201d
\nCalls for more protests
\nShekari\u2019s body was buried 24 hours after his execution in the presence of a few family members and security forces in Tehran\u2019s Behesht-i-Zahra cemetery, the 1500tasvir social media monitor reported.
\nOvernight, protesters took to the street where he was first arrested, shouting, \u201cThey took away our Mohsen and brought back his body,\u201d in a video shared by 1500tasvir.
\nElsewhere, chants of \u201cDeath to the dictator\u201d and \u201cDeath to Sepah\u201d were heard at a demonstration in Tehran\u2019s Chitgar district, in reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards.
\n1500tasvir said Shekari\u2019s execution happened with such haste that his family had still been waiting to hear the outcome of his appeal.
\nIt posted harrowing footage of what it said was the moment his family learnt the news outside their home in Tehran, with a woman doubled up in pain and grief, repeatedly screaming the name \u201cMohsen!\u201d
\nHamed Esmaeilion, an Iranian-Canadian activist who has organised mass protests in Berlin, Paris and other cities, said more demonstrations would be held at the weekend.
\n\u201cRegardless of belief and ideology, let\u2019s join these gatherings in protest against the brutal execution of #MohsenShekari,\u201d he tweeted.
\n\u2018Contempt for human life\u2019
\nUN rights chief Volker Turk described the execution as \u201cvery troubling and clearly designed to send a chilling effect to the rest of the protesters\u201d.
\nWestern governments, which had already imposed waves of sanctions against Iran over the protest crackdown, also expressed anger.
\nWashington called Shekari\u2019s execution \u201ca grim escalation\u201d and vowed to hold the Iranian regime to account for violence \u201cagainst its own people\u201d.
\nGermany summoned the Iranian ambassador, a diplomatic source said, without providing further details.
\n\u201cThe threat of execution will not suffocate the will for freedom,\u201d German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweeted, criticising a \u201cperfidious summary trial\u201d.
\n\u201cThe Iranian regime\u2019s contempt for human life is boundless,\u201d Baerbock added.
\nIran has defended its response to the protests and accused the West of hypocrisy.
\n\u201cIn countering riots, Iran has shown utmost restraint and, unlike many Western regimes \u2026 Iran has employed proportionate and standard anti-riot methods,\u201d its foreign ministry said.
\n\u201cThe same is true for the judicial process: restraint and proportionality,\u201d it tweeted late on Thursday, adding: \u201cPublic security is a red line.\u201d
\nAccording to rights group Amnesty International, Iran executes more people annually than any nation other than China.
\nIHR, which says the security forces have killed at least 458 people in the protest crackdown, this week warned that Iran had already executed more than 500 people in 2022, a sharp jump on last year\u2019s figure.
\nAt least a dozen other people are currently at risk of execution after being sentenced to hang in connection with the protests, human rights groups warned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tehran Iran was slapped with fresh sanctions on Friday after carrying out its first execution over demonstrations that have shaken the regime for nearly three months, as activists called for fresh protests. Mohsen Shekari, 23, was hanged on Thursday after being found guilty of \u201cmoharebeh\u201d, or \u201cenmity against God\u201d, following what rights groups denounced as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-300313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n