TEHRAN: Iran’s judiciary announced Thursday it had sentenced a man to death for his role in the protests sparked by the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini.

Arshia Takdastan was alleged to have led a “crowd in the main square of the city of Nowshahr and committed significant criminal acts”, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.

He was charged with “corruption on earth” and “moharebeh”, or “enmity against God”, both capital offences in the Islamic republic, over the protest in the country’s north.

The sentence follows more than three months of demonstrations in Iran triggered by the September 16 death of Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s dress code for women.

The judiciary did not give information on the date of Takdastan’s arrest but noted that he has the right to appeal the verdict at the supreme court.

Since the beginning of the protests, two people have been executed and another 12 have been sentenced to death over the unrest which Tehran calls “riots”, according to Iranian justice officials.

Six of the condemned are awaiting new trials and four death sentences have been confirmed by the supreme court.

Authorities say hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed and thousands arrested during the unrest.

Published in Dawn, january 6th, 2023