Iran halts execution of 3 men convicted over fuel protests

Iranian judicial authorities have halted the execution of Amirhossein Moradi, 26, a cellphone retailer, Said Tamjidi, 28, a student, and 26-year-old Mohammad Rajabi. Babak Paknia, a lawyer representing one of the accused, told AFP that “we conveyed a request [for a retrial] to the Supreme Court and they have accepted it.”

The defense hopes that the verdict will eventually be overturned, he added. The Supreme Court had this week upheld the sentence, triggering an online campaign that urged authorities not to execute the three.

Moradi, Tamjidi, and Rajabi were convicted on the back of the nationwide protests sparked by the government’s unpopular decision in November 2019 to raise the price of fuel. The protests, which quickly spread across the country’s major cities, saw gas stations set ablaze, police stations vandalized and businesses looted until security forces quelled the unrest.