Iranian authorities have executed a man convicted of killing a police officer during clashes in 2022, the country’s judiciary announced on Sunday.
The execution comes amid reports of increased use of capital punishment in Iran following the outbreak of the Middle East war in February and anti-government protests that began late last year.
Iran’s judiciary, through its Mizan Online website, quoted local prosecutor Aref Akbari as confirming that the death sentence had been carried out against the man convicted of killing Reza Ehterami, an officer attached to the country’s police emergency unit.
Akbari said the execution followed an investigation and trial, after which Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the verdict.
The defendant, identified in court only as “Danial”, was found guilty of intentionally killing Ehterami, a third lieutenant serving with the law enforcement authorities in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas.
According to previous reports by Iranian state media, Ehterami died in 2022 after being struck by a vehicle driven by the defendant during clashes involving police and fuel smugglers.
Iran is among the countries with the highest number of executions worldwide. Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, report that China is the only country believed to carry out more executions annually, although reliable figures for China are not publicly available.
The latest execution has renewed attention on Iran’s use of the death penalty amid heightened political tensions and security challenges in the country.