Iran executes man convicted of attack on police station

TEHRAN, Nov 7 — Iran executed a man today convicted of being involved in a deadly assault on a police station, the judiciary said.

“The death sentence of Mohammad Aref Shahbakhsh — an operative linked to the terrorist group Jaish al-Zolm (al-Adl) — was carried out this morning following the completion of all legal procedures,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.

Jaish al-Adl is an outlawed militant group in Sistan-Baluchistan province, one of Iran’s poorest, which has long seen clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and members of the ethnic Baloch minority.

Iran accuses arch-enemies the United States and Israel of supporting armed groups there.

“The attack on Qaleh Bid police station in Khash city in the south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan resulted in the martyrdom and injury of several police personnel,” the judiciary’s media noted without specifying the date of the attack.

Shahbakhsh was convicted of “baghi (armed rebellion against the Islamic state) and moharebeh (waging war against God) for his role in the armed attack on the station,” Mizan said.

Clashes between armed groups and Iranian security forces in the region have flared again in recent months.

Iran executes more people annually than any country except China, according to rights groups outside the country including Amnesty International.

It imposes the death penalty for a range of offences, including murder and security-related crimes. — AFP