Iran executes three convicted of killing police in recent pre-war unrest

Those executed were allegedly involved in the killing of two law enforcement personnel.

Iran has executed three people convicted of killing police officers and carrying out operations in favour of the United States and Israel during unrest earlier this year, the judiciary said, amid the sprawling war launched on the country, now in its 20th day.

“Three individuals convicted in the Dey [January] unrest, on charges of murder and operational actions in favor of the Zionist regime and the United States, were hanged this morning,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said on Thursday.

It added that those executed were involved in the killing of two law enforcement personnel.

Authorities say 3,117 people were killed during the anti-establishment protests that began in late December, rejecting statements by the United Nations and international human rights organisations that state forces were behind the killings, which were mostly carried out on January 8 and 9.

In February, before the war began, the United States-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had verified 6,872 deaths and was investigating more than 11,000 other cases. A UN special rapporteur had said the death toll might be higher than 20,000 as information trickled out despite heavy internet filtering by the state.