Iran sentences more protesters to death amid international outrage

Iran's judiciary has sentenced three more anti-government protesters to death, ignoring growing international criticism over its crackdown on demonstrators.

Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeid Yaghoubi, who had been convicted of allegedly killing members of Iran’s Basij Resistance Forces, a paramilitary organisation controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, during anti-government protests in the central city of Isfahan, were sentenced to death on Monday, according to the Mizan news agency.

They could still appeal the verdict of the case, the report added.

Iran hanged two people on Saturday as it attempts to stamp out demonstrations, which have slowed considerably since it began the executions of alleged protesters.

The Basij forces have been at the forefront of the state clampdown on the unrest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran's morality police on September 16.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday signalled the state has no intention of softening its position, saying in a televised speech that those who "set fire to public places have committed treason with no doubt."

READ MORE: Iran executes two men over killing paramilitary volunteer during protest

'Treason'

In an updated death toll, Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Monday that 481 protesters have been killed, including 64 minors, since the unrest began. Authorities have referred to the demonstrators as rioters.

Tehran accuses hostile foreign countries and opposition groups of stoking the unrest.

"The goal of people present in the riots was not to overcome the country's weaknesses but to destroy its strengths", Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told an audience in Tehran on Monday, according to his official website.

"Undoubtedly, these actions are treason, and the responsible institutions deal with treason seriously and justly," he added.

Under Iranian laws, treason is punishable by death.

"Sham trials"

Despite the establishment doubling down on the crackdown of protesters, small-scale protests persist in Tehran, Isfahan and several other cities.

At least four people have been hanged since the demonstrations started, according to the judiciary, including the two protesters on Saturday.

IHR said on Monday at least 109 protesters now in detention have been sentenced to death or face charges that can carry capital punishment.

Amnesty International said last month that Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty in what it called "sham trials designed to intimidate protesters."

According to reports and rights activists on social media, two other protesters, the 22-year-old Mohammad Ghobadlou and 18-year-old Mohammad Boroughani, had been transferred to solitary confinement ahead of their execution in the Rajai Shahr prison in the city of Karaj.

READ MORE: Iran warns France over Charlie Hebdo's 'insulting' Khamenei caricatures

Global outrage and sanctions

The crackdown and executions have sparked global outrage and new Western sanctions against Tehran.

Rights groups have also accused Iran of extracting forced confessions and denying the thousands arrested due legal process.

In response to the latest crackdown, Canada announced on a new round of sanctions against Tehran.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also said that the United States "will continue to impose costs and consequences". 

The European Union and several European countries including Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway have summoned Iranian diplomats in protest at the latest executions, carried out on Saturday.

More rallies against the Iranian government have been held in London and Paris in recent days.

READ MORE: Two French nationals, a Belgian indicted for espionage in Iran