Majidreza Rahnavard (Persian: مجیدرضا رهنورد; 16 June 1999 – 12 December 2022) was the first person executed in public for charges stemming from his involvement in the Mahsa Amini protests.
[2] Rahnavard was accused of fatally stabbing two Basij militia guards during a protest in November 2022, leading to him being charged with, convicted of, and sentenced to death for moharebeh ("waging war against God").
[4] Mizan, the Iranian news agency that operates under Iran's judiciary system, claimed that Rahnavard fatally stabbed two Basij "student" volunteers, Hossein Zeinalzadeh and Daniyal Rezazadeh, on 17 November 2022 in the city of Mashhad and wounded four others.
According to Amnesty, none of the 28 Iranians had fair trials or were afforded the right to choose their own attorneys, to be presumed innocent until guilty, or to receive an open door hearing.
[10] The Islamic Revolutionary Court, in which Rahnavard was convicted, has been criticized internationally for holding these "closed doors" trials and for often not allowing defendants to review the evidence that will be used against them.
Borrell also announced the EU's plans to meet in Brussels and approve new sanctions against Iran for their hardline response against the protesters, the executions of Shekari and Rahnavard, and providing drones to Russia for use in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
[14] Shortly before the meeting in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called Rahnavard's execution "a blatant attempt at intimidation" of protesters, adding, "We are making clear that we stand beside innocent people in Iran.
In a statement, their Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Diana Eltahawy, condemned the public execution for exposing Iran's judicial system as a tool of repression spreading fear and getting revenge against protestors who go up against the status quo.
[13] Masih Alinejad, a United States-based dissident, called on the European Union to recall their ambassadors in the wake of the execution while saying, "Majidreza Rahnavard's crime was protesting the murder of Mahsa Amini.