The president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, stressed this Friday that those responsible for acts of vandalism and attacks in the framework of anti-government demonstrations will be “strictly” punished, one day after the execution of a man detained in the mobilizations unleashed in September for the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, arrested for allegedly wearing the veil incorrectly.
Raisi has promised the relatives of the agents killed during the protests that those responsible for these incidents will be “identified and strictly punished” through “the relevant channels.” “Although their loss is very difficult for everyone, the despair of the enemies is a great achievement,” he said.
Thus, he has affirmed that “the enemies seek to damage the values of the Islamic Revolution by resorting to a new combined war, but the Iranian nation has faced this conspiracy,” according to the Iranian news agency Mehr. “Enemies say they are defending the lives of the Iranian people, but in practice they are killing innocent people in the Shah Cheragh mausoleum,” referring to the October attack by Islamic State.
Raisi’s words come a day after the execution of Mohsen Shekari, convicted of “intentionally” wounding a security guard with a knife and blocking a street in the capital, Tehran, according to the Tasnim news agency. The Iranian authorities have rejected the appeal of the prisoner’s lawyer, considering that “it is neither valid nor justified”, since they consider that he is guilty of “war crimes” by blocking the street, threatening with weapons and confronting the agents.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard confirmed last week that more than 300 people have died since the start of the protests, which was the first official balance since the start of the mobilizations. The figure is lower than that provided by NGOs, which point to more than 400 deaths due to the repression by the security forces.
