Iran carries out second execution linked to anti-government protests

TEHRAN: The Islamic Republic hanged a man in public on Monday who had been convicted of killing two members of security forces, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported, the second execution linked to anti-government protests in less than a week.

"Majid Reza Rahnavard was hanged in public in (the holy Shi'ite city of) Mashahd this morning ... he was sentenced to death for 'waging war against God' after stabbing to death two members of security forces," Mizan said.

Iran's hanging of another man, Mohsen Shekari, on Thursday convicted of injuring a security guard with a knife and blocking a street in Tehran, have been widely condemned by the United States and its allies.

Rights groups have said Shekari was tortured and forced to confess.

Amnesty International has said Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 21 people in what it called "sham trials designed to intimidate those participating in the popular uprising that has rocked Iran".

Nationwide protests that erupted after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 represent one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its establishment in 1979.