Iran says Shahram Sadeghi executed in protest case

Iran's judiciary said it executed Shahram Sadeghi on Sunday after he was convicted of running over police officers with a car during anti-government protests in Karaj, west of Tehran, on January 8.

The judiciary's Mizan Online website said seven officers were wounded. It said Sadeghi had been sentenced to death for carrying out an "operational action" in support of Israel and the United States.

The protest movement began in late December over the high cost of living and grew into wider anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9. Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths and blamed the violence on "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel, while rights groups based abroad say security forces fired on protesters.

Iran Human Rights, based in Norway, and Together Against the Death Penalty, based in Paris, said Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people last year, the highest annual number since 1989. Amnesty International says Iran carries out the second highest number of executions after China.