ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran executed a citizen on Wednesday over his alleged involvement in January’s nationwide protests, accusing him of membership in a "revolutionary terrorist group" and conducting operations on behalf of the US and Israel.

Tehran has often been accused of escalating crackdowns, arrests and executions during periods of unrest and conflict, accusing detainees of ties to Western countries and espionage in an effort to deter dissent.

Mehdi Khanki, from Alborz province’s Karaj, was sentenced to death while “all his property was confiscated on charges of carrying out operational actions in favor of the Zionist regime and the United States and hostile groups,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) affiliated Fars news agency reported. 

Iran has a long history of broadcasting and alleged confessions from detainees that are widely believed to be coerced, often obtained through threats, psychological pressure, and, in some cases, physical torture.

The report claimed that intelligence forces seized a cache of weapons, explosives, and bomb-making materials during the operation in Khanki’s house.

Khanki was described as “a member of one of the counter-revolutionary terrorist groups who had been storing weapons and war ammunition,” who was arrested nearly a month after the beginning of the January protests.

The term “separatist” and “revolutionary groups” is often used by Tehran to describe Iranian opposition groups who are opposed to the regime’s policies and persecution of minorities in the country. 

Hengaw Human Rights Organization, an Oslo-based watchdog, condemned the execution.

“The swift execution of this citizen's death sentence was carried out without due process and without the deprivation of standard defense rights,” it said.

Iran has witnessed a record high rate of executions recently, with the US-Israeli war on the country that started late February and the nationwide January protests.