Iran Protesters Refuse to Back Down as 15,000 Face Execution

Nationwide protests continue in Iran for the 53rd straight day, despite nearly 15,000 Iranians having been arrested in connection to the demonstrations and who are now facing the death penalty.

As thousands continue to rally across Iran's capital city of Tehran, defying a brutal crackdown by Iranian forces, on Tuesday, the country's parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of the death penalty for protesters.

The decision came after recent calls from within the Iranian government to punish protesters in a way that would quell the demonstrations. In a letter signed by 227 out of 290 members of parliament cited by Iran's state-run Press TV on Sunday, lawmakers asked to teach those arrested "a good lesson" so as to deter others from joining them.

"We, the representatives of this nation, ask all state officials, including the judiciary, to treat those, who waged war [against the Islamic establishment] and attacked people's life and property like the Daesh [terrorists], in a way that would serve as a good lesson in the shortest possible time," the letter read.

Lawmakers added that such a punishment – the methods of which were not specified – would "prove to all that life, property, security and honor of our dear people is a red line for this [Islamic] establishment and that it would show no leniency to anybody in this regard."

Mass protests began in Iran after news of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amin on September 16 became public. The Kurdish woman had been arrested by the country's so-called morality police on September 13 while she was visiting Tehran for reportedly wearing an "improper" form of hijab, and was allegedly fatally beaten while in custody. Iranian authorities have denied any responsibility for Amin's fatal head injury.

Women have led the protests, setting their headscarves on fire and cutting their hair in solidarity, and were later joined by men and teenage boys. Hundreds of people protesting Amin's death were killed by police, and thousands were arrested in the past eight weeks.

There have been previous mass protests in Iran, but none of the size—and the length—of the current one. Back in 2009, millions took to the streets after a disputed presidential election.

Solidarity for the protesters is also growing, with Reuters reporting that Iran's water polo players refused to sing the national anthem at a competition in Thailand on Tuesday and prominent actor Taraneh Alidoosti expressed her support for the protests by posting a photo of herself with her hair uncovered by the mandatory headscarf.

In the photo, Alidoosti holds a placard that reads: "Woman, Life, Freedom."