Iran Issues First Death Sentence Amid Anti-Regime Riots — UN Says 'Stop Sentencing Peaceful Protesters To Death'

Iranian court issued its first known death sentence on Sunday as the country enters its eighth week of anti-regime protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. 

What Happened: The unidentified rioter was sentenced on the charge of "disturbing public order and comfort, community and colluding to commit a crime against national security" for setting a government building on fire, according to the judiciary's website Mizan Online.

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It added that Jail terms ranging from five to 10 years were handed to five other individuals on charges of national security and violations of public order.

Tehran is currently experiencing a massive country-wide wave of protests since the death of Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman, in police custody in September. The regime has accused foreign nations of inciting unrest in the country and encouraging the demonstrators, who it calls “rioters.”

At least 326 people have been killed in one of the largest sustained challenges to Tehran's regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, per the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights.

About 14,000 people are estimated to have been arrested and detained since the protests started in Iran, according to United Nations Rapporteur on Human Rights on Iran Javaid Rehman. 

Meanwhile, the U.N., in a statement, said, "we urge Iranian authorities to stop using the death penalty as a tool to squash protests."

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