Protestor Mohammad Ghobadlou, a 23year old Iranian man was executed on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 by the Iranian authorities. He was convicted of murder and “corruption on Earth” for allegedly running over and killing a local official with his car during a protest near Tehran in September 2022.
Ghobadlou’s execution has sparked an outcry from human rights groups, who said he faced an unfair trial marred by torture allegations and that his mental health condition was ignored. According to Amnesty International, Ghobadlou had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager and had stopped taking his medication two months before the protests. International law and standards prohibit using the death penalty against people with mental disabilities.
Ghobadlou is the ninth person to have been executed in relation to their involvement in the nationwide protests that erupted in 2022 after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands detained in a violent crackdown by security forces, which have portrayed the protests as riots.