A young Iranian soldier has been sentenced to death for refusing orders to shoot protesters during the regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent, according to a human rights group.
Javid Khales, a member of Iran’s security forces, is expected to face capital punishment after he allegedly failed to join his fellow soldiers in firing at demonstrators taking part in the anti-government protests, The Center for Human Rights in Iran (IHRS) said on Tuesday.
“When faced with the command to shoot at protesting people, he refused to execute the order, leading to his immediate arrest and the opening of a case against him,” the group said.
“Issuing a death sentence for a soldier because he refused to kill people demonstrates the instrumental use of the judiciary to enforce absolute obedience and intensify protest repression,” the rights group added.
The IHRS, based in New York City, is calling on the government to release the full details of the case against Khales, as information on those arrested during the protests remains sparse.
News of Khales’ sentence comes after Iran’s judiciary signaled that the nation would carry out swift trials and executions against those in custody, with human rights groups estimating that more than 20,000 people were arrested during the protests.
Iran’s judiciary reiterated Sunday that the actions by the protesters were akin to “mohareb,” an Islamic term meaning to wage war on God — which carries the death penalty.
The warning was issued after President Trump thanked the Islamic Republic’s leadership on Truth Social for canceling the alleged executions of more than 800 people scheduled for hanging.
Since then, reports have emerged of Iran’s renewed wave of suppressing dissent as its leadership tries to reclaim control, with Iran’s top police official calling on protesters to turn themselves in to avoid harsher punishments.
The IHRS warned that without international intervention, “hasty and extrajudicial sentences” will be carried out in the near future.
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