The father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami, an imprisoned Iranian protester, says his son has informed him by phone that he has been handed a death sentence by Iranian judicial authorities.
"He said, 'Dad, my sentence is death.' He was crying and asking me not to tell his mother," Mashallah Karami told the Tehran-based Etemad newspaper in an interview as he described the phone call earlier this month.
SEE ALSO: Iran Hangs Man In Public In Second Execution Linked To ProtestsMohammad Mehdi Karami says he was tortured into making a confession to security forces who were looking to pin the blame on him and 15 other protesters for the death of a member of the Basij paramilitary force during nationwide demonstrations.
The incident happened on November 3 in Karaj, the capital of Alborz Province, when mourners were paying tribute to a slain protester, Hadis Najafi, at a cemetery to mark 40 days after she was killed in the city, amid nationwide protests triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
Karami said he rejects both the charges and the death sentence. Five people so far have been handed death sentences in the case, while another 11 people, including three children, were handed lengthy jail terms.
Prosecutors say Ruhollah Ajamian, 27, was stripped naked and killed by a group of mourners who had been paying tribute to Najafi.
Human rights organizations have strongly objected to the death sentences being issued against protesters in Iran after "sham trials" that were held over six days.
Earlier, the opposition activist collective 1500tasvir reported that Mohammad Mehdi Karami said in a meeting with his family that officers beat him so badly during his arrest that they left his body in the street, thinking he was dead. They realized he wasn't just as they were leaving.
Among the others sentenced to death in the case are Hamid Qarahasanlou, a doctor whose brother had previously revealed the severe torture that officers had inflicted on him and his wife.
The verdict comes after weeks of increased threats by authorities that they will react harshly to any unrest. Lawmakers have pushed the judiciary to render harsh penalties -- including the death penalty -- in trials for those arrested during protests over the death of the 22-year-old Amini.
So far, 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 -- after being convicted of 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 show 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.
Since her 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 more than 300 dead and hundreds more injured. Several member of the security forces have been reportedly also killed. Thousands more have been arrested, including many protesters, as well as journalists, lawyers, activists, and others, amid concerns about the charges against them.
The activist HRANA news agency said that, as of November 29, at least 459 protesters had been killed during the unrest, including 64 minors, as security forces try to stifle widespread dissent.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization says the number of executions in Iran exceeds 500 this year.