A police chief has been sentenced to death in northern Iran after he was convicted of killing a man during mass protests in 2022, according to local media.
Local police chief Jafar Javanmardi was arrested in December 2022 over the killing of a protestor amid widespread demonstrations over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.
Amini a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died in police custody after she was detained for allegedly violating the country’s dress code for women.
Javanmardi was sentenced to death “in accordance with the Islamic law of retribution, known as the ‘qisas’ law, on the charge of premeditated murder,” a lawyer for the victim’s family, Majid Ahmadi, told Shargh Daily.
The protestor, Mehran Samak, 27, died from injuries he sustained after he was hit with shotgun pellets at a demonstration in the northern city of Bandar Anzali on November 30, 2022.
Rights groups outside of Iran said Samak was shot dead by security forces after honking his horn to celebrate Iran’s loss to the United States at the 2022 World Cup during an Amini protest.
Ahmadi said the police official was charged with “violating the rules of firearms usage, resulting in the death of Samak.”
The judiciary’s Mizan Online website said the Supreme Court had annulled a death sentence in mid-January and referred the case to another court.
Gilan province, where Bandar Anzali is located, was a flashpoint in the nationwide protests that rocked Iran.
Hundreds were killed during the months-long protests, including dozens of security forces, while thousands were arrested and nine men were executed for charges connected to the demonstrations.
