The Islamic Republic executed Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saedi, two men arrested during the January protests in Shahrud, early Tuesday, the judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency reported.
Mizan described the two men as “enemy foot soldiers” and “armed leaders of the January coup” in Shahrud, saying protesters had created what it called the pretext and conditions for hostile action by Iran’s enemies.
Mohammad-Sadegh Akbari, the head of the judiciary in Semnan province, accused Zamani and Saedi of taking part in unrest, damaging bank branches, creating disorder outside the governor’s office, overturning and burning a police vehicle, and attacking homes and cars.
Mizan said the charges against them also included inciting people to attend protests, assembly and collusion against domestic and foreign security, moharebeh, or “waging war against God,” and “corruption on earth.”
Officials and state media in Iran have repeatedly sought to discredit anti-government protests by labeling them “riots,” “unrest” or a “coup” and linking them to foreign actors, including the United States and Israel.
Mizan also published a 50-second video it described as the men’s confessions, with their faces blurred.
Rights groups and former detainees have repeatedly reported the use of forced confessions under pressure, torture and harsh detention conditions in the Islamic Republic’s prisons.
Iran has sharply increased executions in recent months, including political prisoners accused of taking part in the January protests or facing espionage-related charges.
In early June, the Islamic Republic executed Mehrdad Mohammadinia and Ashkan Maleki, two January protesters, over allegations that they set fire to a mosque in Tehran.
