Iran has made public the forced "confessions" of several protesters, raising concerns among rights groups that more death sentences will be issued and carried out after "sham" trials.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-affiliated Tasnim news agency published statements on December 14 by Dena Sheibani, a snowboard instructor and graphic artist, Hesam Mousavi, a rock climbing instructor, Amir Arslan Mahdavi, a snowboard instructor, Eshraq Najafabadi, a cycling instructor, and Mohammad Khiveh, a mountaineer and hiking guide, claiming that they were unsuccessful in an attempt to detonate a bomb in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz.
In a video, the five talk about their alleged roles in the bombing operation. But relatives and friends immediately rejected the "confessions," saying they were after torture sessions and that none of the five had access to a lawyer.
Reports published on social media accused security authorities of "laying the groundwork" with the video for issuing heavy sentences against a number of athletes and artists arrested for speaking out during the recent protests in Shiraz.
Authorities have been threatening for weeks to ratchet up their brutal crackdown on unrest that was touched off in mid-September by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. Lawmakers have pushed the judiciary to render harsh penalties -- including the death penalty -- in trials for those arrested during protests over Amini's death.
To date Iranian authorities have followed through with their threats by executing two protesters.
Majidreza Rahnavard was hanged in a public execution on December 12 -- just 23 days after he was arrested -- following his conviction for killing two members of Iran's security forces. The group Iran Human Rights said Rahnavard's sentencing was based on "coerced confessions, after a grossly unfair process and a sham trial."
Meanwhile, Moshen Shekari was executed publicly on December 8 after an appeal of his sentence was rejected by Iran's Supreme Court. He was accused of allegedly wounding a security officer.
Also, Farhad and Farzad Tahazadeh, two brothers from the northwestern Iranian city of Oshnavieh, are among several protesters who are in imminent danger of execution.
Reports also indicate that Iranian professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces accusations of “waging war against God” and "corruption on Earth," which are punishable by death and often leveled in cases allegedly involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran's government.
In response, the global professional footballers’ union FIFPRO announced in a statement on December 12 that it was "shocked and sickened" by reports of Nasr-Azadani's situation because he campaigned for women’s rights and basic freedom in his country.
Since Amini’s death, Iranians have flooded streets across the country in protest, with women and even schoolgirls making unprecedented shows of support in the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.
The regime has blamed Western governments for the unrest and has responded to the protests with a bloody crackdown that human rights groups say has left almost 500 dead and hundreds more injured. Thousands more have been arrested, including many protesters, as well as journalists, lawyers, activists, and others, amid concerns about the charges against them.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization says the number of executions in Iran exceeds 500 this year.