Iran has executed Shahram Sadeghi, a man convicted of driving his car into a group of police officers during anti-government protests in January, the judiciary announced Sunday. Sadeghi was convicted of carrying out an operational action in support of Israel and the United States and sentenced to death along with confiscation of property. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence.
Judicial authorities said Sadeghi rammed his vehicle into officers in Karaj on January 8, injuring seven, one of whom remained in a coma for roughly three months. He then set the car ablaze and fled, later arrested under a false identity at a rehabilitation centre in Alborz province.
Executions have accelerated since the U.S.-Israeli military offensive against Iran began on February 28. U.N. rights chief Volker Türk said at least 56 people have been executed on national security charges since March 19. Amnesty International recorded at least 2,159 executions last year, the highest tally since 1981.