ISFAHAN: Iran on Friday executed three men it said were implicated in the deaths of three members of its security forces during anti-government protests last year, the country’s judiciary said.

Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi were executed in the central city of Isfahan, said the judiciary in a statement on Twitter, adding that they had “martyred” two members of the Basij paramilitary force and a law enforcement officer on Nov 16.

Amnesty International said the men’s fast-tracked trial was flawed and used “torture-tainted confessions”. Iran denies that confessions are extracted under torture.

Friday’s executions brought to seven the number of protesters hanged since the beginning of the nationwide protests that began last autumn and turned into one of the boldest challenges to the Iranian leadership since the 1979 revolution.

They were ignited by the Sept 16 death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini while in the custody of morality police.

In anticipation of their imminent execution, the three men on Wednesday appealed in a handwritten note for public support, saying “don’t let them kill us”.

“We need your help,” said the note that went viral on social media, drawing local and international appeals to halt the executions, including from Washington.

Families and supporters held nightly vigils outside the Dastgerd prison in Isfahan in support of the three men who were being held inside.

The men were given a final meeting with their families on Wednesday, raising fears that their execution was imminent.

Immediately after their execution on Friday, state media re-ran video posts of what were presented as the defendants’ confessions, which Amnesty International said were extracted by torture.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2023