Iran executes two more protesters, sparking global outrage

Iran has executed two men found guilty of killing a pro-regime militia member during anti-government protests, official media have reported. They are the third and fourth Iranians known to have been executed on charges relating to the months-long protests against the clerical regime.

“Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, the main perpetrators of the crime that led to the martyrdom of Ruhollah Ajamian, were hanged this morning,” the judicial news agency Mizan Online said.

Mizan said the officer was a member of the Basij paramilitary force and was killed in the city of Karaj, near Tehran, on November 3. The Basij, a volunteer force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have been used against protesters in major cities, attacking and detaining demonstrators.

The UN human rights office said the executions followed “unfair trials based on forced confessions”.

A representative for EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the executions were "another sign of the Iranian authorities' violent repression of civilian demonstrations".

France's Foreign Ministry called the executions “revolting” and Germany said they “strengthen us in our desire to raise the pressure further on Tehran with the EU”.

The US-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran called on countries to withdraw their ambassadors from Tehran.

At least 517 protesters have been killed and more than 19,200 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has closely monitored the unrest.

The demonstrations were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, a woman arrested for allegedly breaking the country's strict dress code for women.