The execution of 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari – a participant in the protests that swept Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini, may give new impetus to the ongoing protests in the country, Report informs referring to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The regime is likely using the execution to deter protest participation and instill fear in demonstrators. The execution and the manner in which it was carried out could have the opposite effect, however.
Social media reports indicate that neither Shekari nor his family were informed of his impending execution beforehand and that the regime disposed of his body, depriving his family of the opportunity to bury him and of the location of a grave at which to mourn him.
“The regime likely sought to avoid giving protesters the opportunity to rally in advance of Shekari’s execution and to deprive them of a gravesite around which to rally future commemoration ceremonies that could in turn become demonstrations. The covert burial of Shekari, however, opens possibilities for protesters to choose to commemorate him at any location or several.”