Iran Executes 19-Year-Old Arrested During January Protests, Right Group Says

A protest in Berlin against executions and torture in Iran. (file photo)

Iranian authorities have executed a 19-year-old man who was arrested during nationwide protests that began in late December and spread across the country in January, according to a US-based rights group.Arvin Kheirkhahan was executed at about 4 a.m. on August 1 at Shahrud Prison in Iran's Semnan Province, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported, citing a source close to his family.Kheirkhahan had been sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Shahrud Revolutionary Court on a charge of "enmity against God," according to HRANA. The sentence was upheld during the appeals process and by Iran’s Supreme Court, the group said.Kheirkhahan was transferred to solitary confinement on July 29 ahead of his execution, according to Iran International.His family gathered outside the prison on July 31 in an attempt to prevent the sentence from being carried out.In a final conversation with his family, Kheirkhahan reportedly said: "Don't let them forget me. We stood up for the liberation of our homeland. Don't let the path we chose be silenced."

Don't let them forget me. We stood up for the liberation of our homeland.