The total number of people executed in connection with the protests that swept the country after 22-year-old Jîna Amini was killed in custody by the morality police on 16 September, reached four.

Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini were executed by hanging in the early hours of Saturday morning, state-affiliated Fars News reported.

The two men, who allegedly participated in anti-regime protests last year, were found guilty of killing a member of the Iranian paramilitary force, according to the Iranian judicial news agency Mizan.

Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, a lawyer defending Karami, wrote on social media on Saturday that Karami was not given the final rights to speak to his family before his execution. The lawyer added that Karami began a dry food hunger strike on Wednesday as a form of protest against the authorities for not allowing Aghasi to represent him.

According to statements from both Iranian officials and Iranian media, as many as 41 more protesters have been sentenced to death in recent months, but the number may be much higher.

Following the executions, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the European Union urged Iran to immediately suspend the latest death sentences and provide a fair legal process for all detainees.

Norway-based Iranian Human Rights also condemned the executions carried out on Saturday and warned that "many protesters will be executed in the coming days if there is not an appropriate response".