DUBAI — Iran has executed a man on charges connected to protests that swept the country in January, according to reports from both the Iranian judiciary’s official Mizan news agency and an opposition organization.
Mizan identified the executed man as Mehdi Khaneki, stating he was put to death for carrying out what the agency described as “operational actions” that served the interests of Israel, the United States, and hostile groups. The agency also cited alleged crimes committed during the January protests and said Khaneki had manufactured and possessed weapons.
The Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which serves as the political wing of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), released a statement saying Khaneki was hanged on charges of PMOI membership and participation in protests in the city of Karaj. The NCRI described Khaneki as a 26-year-old law graduate who, according to the group, “had been subjected to months of physical and psychological torture.”
The NCRI also warned that the situation extends beyond this single case. “Dozens of other PMOI members remain on death row or face execution in the regime’s prisons,” the group stated, noting that eight of its members were executed between March 30 and April 20.
For its part, Mizan and other Iranian media reported 12 executions during that same timeframe.
This execution is among several carried out in recent months that Mizan and Iranian media have connected to the PMOI. The organization — also referred to by its Farsi name, Mujahideen-e-Khalq — is outlawed inside Iran, and the extent of its domestic support remains uncertain.
The PMOI, along with a rival monarchist faction that supports Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the deposed shah, stands as one of the few opposition movements capable of mobilizing supporters.
