Iran executes man accused of aiding US, Israel in anti-govt protests

Iran on Sunday executed a man accused of carrying a chainsaw during January anti-government protests who was charged with acting as an agent of Israel and the United States.

The judiciary said Majid Adineh had been convicted of “operational action in favour of hostile groups” in nationwide rallies that broke out late last year.

He is one of a string of people put to death over the protests, which were sparked by economic hardships in Iran.

Adineh was accused of “deliberate arson, gathering and collusion with the intention of committing crimes against the country’s internal security”, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said in a report Sunday.

“Based on numerous documents and evidence in the case and the defendant’s statements, the Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death and confiscation of all his property.”

An appeal by Adineh was unsuccessful and the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, with his execution carried out Sunday morning, Mizan said.

He and another suspect were arrested on January 9 in Alborz province, west of Tehran, carrying “a revolver, ammunition, two tasers, two tear gas canisters, a rechargeable chainsaw, and a bottle of gasoline”, Mizan added.

The protest movement was initially sparked in late December by grievances over high living costs but rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths from the unrest, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

The number of executions in Iran has risen since the start of the Middle East war, which broke out on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes against Iran.

A large number of the executions have been linked to the protests, with other cases related to the war.

Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people last year, a record high since 1989, according to Iran Human Rights, an NGO based in Norway, and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), which is headquartered in Paris.

According to Amnesty International, Iran conducts the second most executions of any country, after China.