TEHRAN, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iranian courts have convicted 16 people for assassinating a Basij volunteer force member in early November and issued preliminary death sentences to five of them, semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported Tuesday.
Making the announcement at a press conference during the day, Iranian judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi said 11 other convicts were sentenced to imprisonment, including three minors.
The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Alborz Province and a criminal court made the rulings on Monday after respectively trying the adult and underaged arrestees for the offense, Setayeshi said.
He noted that the rulings are not final yet, meaning the convicts can seek an appeal.
Those who have been given death sentences were also charged with "corruption on earth," a term used by Iranian authorities to refer to a range of offenses including those related to violating Islamic codes, which is punishable by death, Setayeshi added.
The 16 individuals were arrested on Nov. 12 for their involvement in killing Ruhollah Ajamian, a Basij member who died in a stabbing attack earlier in the month.
Protests have erupted in Iran after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in a Tehran hospital on Sept. 16, a few days after her collapse at a police station. Iran has accused the United States and some other Western countries of "inciting riots and supporting terrorists" in the country. ■
