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The European Union has strongly condemned the executions in Iran of two men earlier on Saturday for allegedly killing a security official during ongoing nationwide protests. The bloc's head of foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, said the EU was "appalled" by the hangings of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini. Rights groups say they endured sham trials. Both were convicted of causing the death of a member of the Basij militia during anti-government protests in the city of Karaj near Tehran. Mr Karami had reportedly gone on hunger strike to protest against the sentence. In December two men in their twenties were executed for allegedly attacking Basij militiamen. Azadeh Pourzand is an Iranian human rights researcher based in the UK.

(Photo: Mohammad Mahdi Karami (right) and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini (left). Credit: MIZAN website)