Protesters executed by Iran include barista, karate champion and a shop worker

The dead include: a barista, a karate champion, a poultry worker, a shop worker. For more than a month, Iran has punished its own citizens for trying to crush the insurgency that has gripped the country since a young woman died in police custody in September.

At least four people have been hanged so far, and many Iranians are in danger of the same fate. CBC News at the end of December identified dozens of individuals at high risk; Amnesty International said that as of mid-December at least 26 people were facing the death penalty at the hands of one of the world’s most prolific executioners.

Most of these people are accused of “warring against God” and “corrupting the Earth” – crimes punishable by death under the Islamic Republic’s Sharia law. The biggest threat to the regime since its inception in 1979 erupted after Mahsa Amini, 22, died in the custody of the morality police, for not wearing the hijab properly.

The execution was only the highest-profile execution carried out by the Iranian authorities. More than 19,000 people have now been detained since the beginning of the protests, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a press association founded by Iranian campaigners. Of these, at least 517 have died, including 70 minors.

Here’s a glimpse into the personal lives – and hasty trials – of the executed men so far:

December 8, Mohsen Shekari

Mohsen Shekari, 23, was the first person to be executed for taking part in the recent protests. The killing occurred less than three months after his arrest.

He was accused of setting garbage cans on fire, blocking roads, stabbing a member of the Basij militia with a machete (the man required stitches) and threatening public safety. Rights groups say Shekari’s confession was obtained through torture. The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said he made self-deprecating statements in a state media video, with bruises visible on his face.

Masoud Kazemi, a journalist based in Turkey, told CBC News recently that the regime pressured Shekari’s family into silence “to the point that they just killed him without warning.”

State media reports also claimed that Shekari said he was offered money by an acquaintance to attack security forces. The Iranian government has for months claimed – without providing any evidence – that a foreign country had caused the unrest.

He is also described online as a gamer who loves action franchises God of war. That caught the attention of game creator David Jaffe, who praised Shekari and condemned the regime on social media.

Taraneh Alidoosti, the 38-year-old star of the 2016 Oscar-winning film The Salesmanwas detained for almost three weeks after criticizing Shekari’s execution.

December 12, Majid Reza Rahnavard

Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged from a crane in public in the northeastern city of Mashhad, less than a month after his arrest.

He is accused of stabbing to death two Basij members and wounding four others in Mashhad.

Iranian state media aired footage of a man, identified as Rahnavard, stabbing another man who had fallen onto a parked motorcycle and then stabbing another man.

The activist network 1500tasvir posted photos of Rahnavard, a shop worker, riding a motorcycle and playing sports.

Jan. 7, Sayed Mohammad Hosseini

Sayed Mohammad Hosseini was one of two people executed on the same day after allegedly killing a member of the Basij in the town of Karaj outside Tehran. Three others have been sentenced to death in the same case, while 11 received prison sentences.

“Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, the main perpetrators of the crime that led to the unjust martyrdom of Ruhollah Ajamian were hanged this morning,” the court said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.

Hosseini’s lawyer, Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, said in a December 18 post on Twitter that Hosseini had been severely tortured and that the confessions extracted during the torture had no legal basis.

He said Hosseini was beaten with his hands and legs tied, kicked in the head to death and given electric shocks in various parts of his body.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran said he worked on a poultry farm.

Ye-One Rhie, a German member of parliament who supports the Iranian protesters, tweeted that Hosseini visits his parents’ graves every Thursday and “trains children for free.”

Jan. 7, Mohammed Mehdi Karami

Amnesty International said the court that convicted Karami, a 22-year-old karate champion, relied on a coerced confession.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights said Karami’s chosen lawyer, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, was denied access to his client, forcing Karami to go on hunger strike.

Before Karami died, his father said that his son was innocent and asked the authorities to release him, because he had won several national titles.