Fathollah Avari 18th Protester Hanged in Relation to January Nationwide Protests

According to the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency, Fathollah Avari, a 42-year-old protester arrested in relation to the protests in Hamedan on 18 January, has been hanged. The date and location of the execution have not been specified. IHRNGO has established the location of his execution as Hamedan Central Prison. 

Fathollah was sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for the murder of a policeman. He was accused of being one of the people to have stabbed the policeman on the night of the protest.

The report states that “the Legal Medicine Organisation determined the cause of death to be a stab wound to the left flank and the subsequent medical complications arising from the injury.” 

While the precise date of his arrest has not been disclosed, Fathollah’s forced confessions were aired by state media on 19 January. In the video, he looks visibly distressed and “confesses” to taking part in the protests on 8 and 9 January, and stabbing the policeman. 

Since 19 March, at least eighteen people have been executed in relation to the January nationwide protests. 

Fathollah Avari's forced televised confession: