Latest news with #Khuzestan
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Iran executes Mojahed Kourkouri over 2022 anti-government protests
A man has been executed in Iran, three years after he was arrested during the nationwide anti-government protests in 2022, the judiciary Kourkouri, also known as Abbas Kourkouri, was sentenced to death after being convicted of armed attacks and membership of a "rebellion group", according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency. He was accused of killing of seven people, including nine-year-old Kian Pirfalak, during protests in the city of Izeh. Kian's family said he was killed by security forces, but authorities maintained that a "rioter" shot him. Amnesty International said Kourkouri was subjected to torture and that his trial was "grossly unfair". Kourkouri is the 11th person known to have been executed in relation to the protests, which were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by morality police in Tehran in September 2022 for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly".Hundreds of people were killed and thousands detained in a violent crackdown by security forces, which portrayed the protests as "riots".Kourkouri was accused of opening fire on a car carrying Kian Pirfalak and his family in Izeh, in the south-western province of Khuzestan, at the height of the unrest that authorities blamed "terrorist agents" for Kian's killing, and later arrested Kourkouri during an armed raid the following month, during which Kourkouri was shot and injured in the knee, human rights groups family has repeatedly said it does not think Kourkouri was involved in the boy's Kian's funeral, the boy's mother was overheard in a video telling mourners: "Hear it from me myself on how the shooting happened, so they can't say it was by terrorists, because they're lying." "Plainclothes forces shot my child. That is it," Zeynab Molaei that the day, she appeared to recant the remarks in a state TV interview, warning that they should "not be misused". She looked visibly distressed, prompting many on social media to warn that she might have been judiciary's announcement that Kourkouri had been executed sparked condemnation among human rights International said Kourkouri's trial was unfair because he had been denied access to an independently chosen lawyer and his confessions, which were broadcast on Iranian state media, had been added that following his arrest, Kourkouri was held in solitary confinement and repeatedly subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including severe was initially sentenced in April 2023, but a judicial review of his case was filed to the Supreme Court in January 2024, Amnesty said. His conviction was later upheld and his sentence was sent for implementation later that year, it director of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's other leaders "must be held accountable for the extrajudicial killing" of Kourkouri, "as well as for the murders of Kian Pirfalak and thousands of other innocent people"."The international community must break its silence in the face of this tsunami of executions carried out by the Islamic Republic," he human rights group Hengaw said at least 582 prisoners, including 19 political, religious, and security inmates, had been executed in Iranian prisons so far this last person to be executed in connection with the 2022 protests was Reza Rasaei in August last 34-year-old was sentenced to death in 2023 after what Amnesty called a "grossly unfair" trial that relied on forced confessions, which they said were "obtained under torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings, electric shocks, suffocation and sexual violence".Iranian authorities accused him of having a part in the death of a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards during the protests - a charge Rasaei was executed in secret and his family was not given prior warning, Amnesty said.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Iran hangs man convicted of killing seven at 2022 protest
Iran executed a man on Wednesday after convicting him of killing seven people, including a 10-year-old boy, during nationwide protests in 2022, the judiciary said. Abbas Kurkuri was sentenced to death over a shooting in the city of Izeh during a protest sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurd detained for an alleged breach of Iran's strict dress code for women. The judgement handed down by the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz, capital of the southwestern province of Khuzestan, was upheld by the Supreme Court and the sentence was carried out by hanging, the judiciary's Mizan Online news website said. The court convicted Kurkuri of the capital offences of 'corruption on earth' and 'moharebeh' -- waging war against God. It found him guilty of 'brandishing a weapon with intent to kill and terrorize the public,' and 'committing crimes by firing a military weapon and forming and joining a rebel group.' He was accused of opening fire with a military weapon in Izeh in an attack that left seven people dead, including 10-year-old Kian Pirfalak. Officials described the shooting as a 'terrorist attack.' At trial, Kurkuri confessed to the charges and said he had been 'under the influence of social media,' Mizan said. The report described him as a 'notorious offender' with a record of 'disrupting public order through shootings, armed assault, destruction of property, and trafficking in drugs and alcohol.' Hundreds of people were killed during the 2022 protests, including members of the security forces. Thousands more were arrested. Iran has since tried and executed several people detained during the protests. Kurkuri's execution comes a day after Iran hanged nine men convicted of plotting to carry out attacks in 2018 on behalf of ISIS.
Malay Mail
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Malay Mail
Dust storm sweeps from Iraq into Iran, affecting 13 million residents
TEHRAN, May 7 — Iranian authorities ordered schools and offices closed in seven western provinces yesterday as a dust storm swept in from neighbouring Iraq, with around 13 million people told to stay indoors. Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Ilam and Kurdistan provinces were all affected, and state television cited local officials as blaming the closures on high levels of accumulated dust. Government and private offices also shut in several provinces including Kermanshah and Ilam, as well as Khuzestan in the southwest. Zanjan in the northeast and Bushehr in the south were also hit. Bushehr, nearly 1,100 kilometres south of Tehran, was given an Air Quality Index of 108 yesterday, rated 'poor for sensitive groups.' That figure is more than four times higher than the concentration of air microparticles deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization. Iran's meteorological authorities said the conditions were caused by 'the movement of a large mass of dust from Iraq towards western Iran.' State television reported low visibility in some areas and urged people to remain inside and wear face masks if they had to go out. Last month, a similar dust storm in Iraq grounded flights and sent thousands of people to hospital with breathing problems. On Monday, Iran's IRNA state news agency said more than 240 people in Khuzestan province had been treated for respiratory issues because of the dust. A spokesperson for the emergency services also told Tasnim news agency yesterday that nine people had died as a result of storms in Iran over the past seven days, ending on Monday. 'Four of the deaths were caused by strong winds and falling objects, and five were caused by lightning strikes,' it added. — AFP
Arab News
06-05-2025
- Climate
- Arab News
Gaza aid dries up as Israeli blockade enters a third month
Huge dust storm sweeps into Iran, affecting millions TEHRAN: Iranian authorities ordered schools and offices closed in seven western provinces Tuesday as a dust storm swept in from neighboring Iraq, with around 13 million people told to stay indoors. Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Ilam and Kurdistan provinces were all affected, and state television cited local officials as blaming the closures on high levels of accumulated dust. Government and private offices also shut in several provinces including Kermanshah and Ilam, as well as Khuzestan in the southwest. Zanjan in the northeast and Bushehr in the south were also hit. Bushehr, nearly 1,100 km south of Tehran, was given an Air Quality Index of 108 on Tuesday, rated 'poor for sensitive groups.' That figure is more than four times higher than the concentration of air microparticles deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization. Iran's meteorological authorities said the conditions were caused by 'the movement of a large mass of dust from Iraq toward western Iran.' State television reported low visibility in some areas and urged people to remain inside and wear face masks if they had to go out. Last month, a similar dust storm in Iraq grounded flights and sent thousands of people to hospital with breathing problems. On Monday, Iran's IRNA state news agency said more than 240 people in Khuzestan province had been treated for respiratory issues because of the dust. A spokesperson for the emergency services also told Tasnim news agency on Tuesday that nine people had died as a result of storms in Iran over the past seven days, ending on Monday. 'Four of the deaths were caused by strong winds and falling objects, and five were caused by lightning strikes,' it added.
Arab News
06-05-2025
- Climate
- Arab News
UAE mediates deal for release of further 410 Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war
Huge dust storm sweeps into Iran, affecting millions TEHRAN: Iranian authorities ordered schools and offices closed in seven western provinces Tuesday as a dust storm swept in from neighboring Iraq, with around 13 million people told to stay indoors. Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Ilam and Kurdistan provinces were all affected, and state television cited local officials as blaming the closures on high levels of accumulated dust. Government and private offices also shut in several provinces including Kermanshah and Ilam, as well as Khuzestan in the southwest. Zanjan in the northeast and Bushehr in the south were also hit. Bushehr, nearly 1,100 km south of Tehran, was given an Air Quality Index of 108 on Tuesday, rated 'poor for sensitive groups.' That figure is more than four times higher than the concentration of air microparticles deemed acceptable by the World Health Organization. Iran's meteorological authorities said the conditions were caused by 'the movement of a large mass of dust from Iraq toward western Iran.' State television reported low visibility in some areas and urged people to remain inside and wear face masks if they had to go out. Last month, a similar dust storm in Iraq grounded flights and sent thousands of people to hospital with breathing problems. On Monday, Iran's IRNA state news agency said more than 240 people in Khuzestan province had been treated for respiratory issues because of the dust. A spokesperson for the emergency services also told Tasnim news agency on Tuesday that nine people had died as a result of storms in Iran over the past seven days, ending on Monday. 'Four of the deaths were caused by strong winds and falling objects, and five were caused by lightning strikes,' it added.
