Iran Executes 2 More Protesters

Facts

• On Saturday, Iranian media reported the executions of two men convicted of killing a paramilitary volunteer during a demonstration, making them the third and fourth men to be executed since the onset of mass protests that began in September.
• The judiciary's official news outlet also confirmed that, just days after the country’s Supreme Court confirmed their sentences for "corruption on Earth," the men executed early on Saturday were Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini.
• The pair were first convicted for the November killing of Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the pro-government Basij militia force, with authorities stating that they stabbed and bludgeoned him with rocks during protests in the city of Karaj, near Tehran.
• State television aired edited footage of Karami speaking before a Revolutionary Court as well as a reenactment of his crime, though activists describe the courtroom TV as coerced confessions.
• This comes after Iranian authorities in December executed Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard on charges of "waging war against God," with Rahnavard being publicly hanged.
• Alongside the four judicial executions so far, activists have reported that at least 16 people have been sentenced to death on charges linked to the protests, another 517 protesters have been killed, and over 19.2K people have been arrested.

Sources: NPR Online News, Al Jazeera, Wall Street Journal, and Associated Press.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Only an illegitimate and inhumane Theocracy like that in Tehran would kill people who take to the streets for legitimate causes. In the past, the international community turned a blind eye as Tehran mass executed its own citizens. This time, the West can no longer remain silent given the ruthlessness of the religious establishment. It's no longer a matter of reforming the existing government but of overthrowing this tyrannical regime.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Tehran Times. In condemning Tehran's crackdown, the West is once again exercising double standards. No government in the world would stand idly by as rioters destroy public property and terrorists masquerading as protesters randomly target security forces. Moreover, the majority of the Iranian population refuses to join the protests, which are being fueled by the hypocritical West to destabilize Iran and instigate a civil war like in Syria.