Mohsen Shekari's Mother Seen Learning of Son's Execution in Video From Iran

Video shared on social media purportedly shows a woman in Iran reacting to the execution of her son for his role in protests in the Islamic Republic.

Iran's authorities said that Mohsen Shekari, 23, had been hanged on Thursday in the first publicly acknowledged execution connected to the unrest that has swept the country in recent months.

The judiciary's Mizan news agency reported that a Revolutionary Court was told that Shekari had blocked a street in Tehran on September 25.

He was also accused of using a machete to attack a member of the Basij Resistance Force, which is often deployed to quell protests and is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iranian protest monitor 1500tasvir_en posted video of a woman crying in the street, adding the message: "Mohsen Shekari's family receiving the unexpected news of his execution by the Islamic Republic while they were still waiting for an appeal."

The same clip was tweeted by Sima Sabet, a host of the TV channel Iran International.

Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment, also shared the video, writing: "The moment the mother of Iranian protestor Mohsen Shekari, age 23, learns he's been hanged for 'waging war against God.'"

This was in reference to what Shekari was convicted of on November 1. He appealed against the verdict, but it was upheld by the Supreme Court on November 20. Rights groups said he had been denied access to his lawyer throughout the interrogation phase and legal proceedings.

Newsweek has been unable to verify the video, which as of Friday morning had been viewed nearly half a million times.

There has been widespread condemnation of the execution.

Iran Human Rights director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement that the international community "must immediately and strongly react" and that if the execution is "not met with serious consequences for the government, we will face mass execution of protesters."

Meanwhile, Amnesty Iran said in a statement it was "horrified" at Shekari's execution "less than 3 weeks after sentencing him in a grossly unfair sham trial. His execution exposes the inhumanity of Iran's so-called justice system as dozens of others face the same fate."

The unrest that has gripped Iran was sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman detained by morality police on September 13. She was accused of wearing her hijab improperly.

Demonstrations have spread to 160 cities in all 31 provinces in what is considered to be one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.

Newsweek has contacted the Iranian foreign ministry for comment.