An Iranian court has confirmed the death sentence of 22-year-old Milad Zohrevand, a protester detained during last year's nationwide unrest, sparking concerns his execution may be imminent.
Hossein Khanjani, the prosecutor for the western city of Hamedan, told the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), on November 13 that "one of the branches of the Supreme Court has confirmed the retribution sentence" against one of the defendants accused of killing Ali Nazari, a member of the IRGC intelligence service in Hamedan.
The judiciary's Mizan news agency published a similar report.
While Khanjani did not identify Zohrevand as the defendant, Dadban, a platform that provides free legal counsel to protesters and victims, referring to the prosecutor's statements in a post on social media, announced that "the Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentence against Milad Zohrehvand, a 22-year-old from Malayer."
He was charged with being involved in the death of an IRGC member during protests last year in Hamedan Province over the death of Mahsa Amini. Rights groups have questioned the charges.
"Zohrevand's death sentence was confirmed in the Supreme Court while, according to informed sources, he was denied access to a lawyer during his detention, and during this time his family was under severe pressure from the IRGC Intelligence Organization not to disseminate information about him," Dadban said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Khanjani emphasized that "legal procedures are ongoing for sending to the prosecutor's office of Hamedan Province and the implementation of the sentence."
Those words and the fact that the rate of executions in Iran has been rising sharply, particularly in the wake of widespread protests that swept across the country last year following the death of Amini in police custody for an alleged head-scarf violation, triggered fears among rights activists that Zohrevand's execution may come soon.
Zohrevand was charged in the death of Ali Nazari, an IRGC agent who was part of the security forces trying to suppress street protests that occurred after a gathering of students at the Malayer Faculty of Medical Sciences following Amini's death.
The day after Nazari's death, Hossein Farsi, the deputy governor of Malayer, said that "about five people with covered faces" were seen in a car near where he was shot, but some of them "fled upon seeing law enforcement and security forces."
Security officials said six people were arrested in connection with the case.
Zohrevand was said to be one of those in the car. The opposition activist collective 1500tasvir said he was arrested under the fabricated scenario of "killing a government agent."
Since his arrest in Malayer on October 26, 2022, no information about his physical and mental condition has been available" and his family is also "under severe pressure," 1500tasvir said.
The judiciary has executed seven detainees from the nationwide protests of 2023 over the past year
Amnesty International says the regime in Tehran has executed more people than any other country in the world other than China so far this year.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on November 2 that Iran was carrying out executions "at an alarming rate," putting to death at least 419 people in the first seven months of the year.