Iran issues death sentence linked to January unrest: Source

A revolutionary court in Tehran has issued a death sentence for an Iranian man accused of “enmity against God,” which if confirmed would be the first such sentence linked to mass protests in January, a source close to the man’s family said.

The source told Reuters on Tuesday that Iran’s judiciary had not yet announced the sentence against the man, Mohammad Abbasi, and that Iran’s Supreme Court was yet to uphold it.

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Abbasi was accused of killing a security officer, an allegation his family denied, the source said.

Rights groups say thousands of people were killed in a crackdown on the protests, the worst domestic unrest in Iran since the era of its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

During the unrest, US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that he could order military action if it carried out executions.

The source said the defendant’s daughter, Fatemeh Abbasi, was handed a 25-year prison sentence over her role in protests.

“The defendants do not have access to the lawyer they wanted, and were given a public defender,” the source added.

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