Iran's Supreme Court upholds death sentence of one protester, accepts rapper Yasin’s appeal

The death sentence appeal of one protesterwas accepted by the Iran's Supreme Court whileit declinedthe appeal of another, the judiciary stated on Saturday.Initially, the court had stated that appeals by both the protesters have been accepted, however, later the judiciary's Mizan news agency, in a statement, said, "The public relations of the Supreme Court of Iran has corrected its news: 'The appeal of Mohammad Qabadloo has not been accepted/the ruling has been confirmed. Saman Seydi's appeal has been accepted by the Supreme Court."

Saman Seydi Yasin who raps about inequality, oppression and unemployment, had been accused of attempting to kill security forces, setting a rubbish bin on fire and shooting into the air thrice during anti-government protests.

Iran witnessed nationwide protests from mid-September after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody after the morality police arrested her for failing to follow the mandatory dress code laws of the Islamic Republic.

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Earlier this month, two protesters were hanged by Iran. One of them, 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari was held guilty of obstructing the main road in September and hurting the paramilitary Basij force member with a knife.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Majid Reza Rahnavard, who was held guilty of killing two Basij members, was hanged publicly from a construction crane.

According to Amnesty International, the death penalty is being sought for around 26 people by the Iranian authorities in what it said were "sham trials designed to intimidate those participating in the popular uprising that has rocked Iran".

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Qobadloo is facing charges of killing police personnel and hurting five others in the protests. Meanwhile, Yasin, a rapper who raps about unemployment, inequality and oppression, is charged with singing revolutionary songs and attempting to kill security forces and will now be retried.

Speaking about the situation in Iran, the rights group HRANA stated that the authorities have killed 506 protesters till Friday, which includes 69 minors.

(With inputs from agencies)