The Head of the Justice Department of Isfahan Province on Friday said eight individuals have been sentenced for "corruption on earth", a charge carrying the death sentence according to Iran's Islamic Penal Code.
Mohammad-Reza Habibi who was speaking at a Friday prayer sermon did not mention any details about these cases or which protests the defendants had participated in but said: "We will be decisive against mercenaries and rioters if crimes are committed like what happened in 2009, 2017 and last November [when protests broke out across the country]" and added that eight trials have finished and those involved have been sentenced for corruption on earth".
Habibi's remarks came only a few days after reports said three young men were sentenced to death for participating in the nationwide protests in November 2019 in Tehran. The death sentences passed by the Revolutionary Court have reportedly been upheld by the Supreme Court. The Judiciary, however, has not yet officially announced the sentences.
After the decision of the Supreme Court was made public by the testimony of a lawyer involved in the case, a news website affiliated to the state-run broadcaster (IRIB) denied it, quoting only an "informed source".
The United States State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on Thursday condemned Iran's death sentence for the three young men accused of rioting and said Iran must respect human rights and stop the executions.
An overnight three-fold increase in gasoline prices in November 2019, triggered a wave of protests that soon turned into anti-Islamic Republic unrest in 29 out of 31 provinces of Iran. In 2017 there were widespread protests against inflation and the dire economic situation of the country, too.