ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities on Sunday executed another political prisoner detained during the 2022 anti-government protests, as the international community calls on Tehran to halt executions.
Mehrab Abdollahzadeh was executed after being accused of involvement in the killing of a member of the Basij paralimilitary force in the northwestern city of Urmia, Iran’s judiciary-affiliated news agency Mizan Online reported.
The Basij is a large volunteer paramilitary group in Iran that serves as one of the five branches of the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Abdollahzadeh was detained on October 22, 2022, by IRGC intelligence service agents and was subjected to 38 days of torture to force him to confess to involvement in the killing of a Basiji member, according to the Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
Iran has executed around two dozen political prisoners since the beginning of the war with the US and Israel on February 28. Officials in Tehran have said they will carry out more executions of individuals they describe as affiliated with the enemy.
Abdollahzadeh denied involvement throughout his interrogation, according to KHRN, and he does not appear in footage obtained by the IRGC.