Theran: Iran said Saturday that it executed two men convicted of allegedly killing a paramilitary volunteer during a protest, the latest executions aimed at putting an end to the country's theocracy.

Iran's judiciary identified those executed as Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini, making four men known to have been executed since the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini began in September. All were subjected to internationally criticised, hurried, closed-door trials.

According to the judiciary's Mizan news agency, the men were convicted of the November 3 murder of Ruhollah Ajamian, a volunteer Basij Force member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The Basij have deployed in major cities, attacking and detaining protesters who have often fought back.

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According to prosecutors, heavily edited footage aired on state television showed Karami speaking before a Revolutionary Court about the attack, as well as a reenactment of the attack. The two other death sentences were already carried out by Iran's Revolutionary Courts.

Tribunals do not allow defendants to choose their own lawyers or even see the evidence against them. According to Amnesty International, the trials "bear no resemblance to a meaningful judicial proceeding."

State TV also aired footage of Karami and Hosseini discussing the attack, despite the fact that the broadcaster has been airing what activists call coerced confessions for years.

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The men were found guilty of murder as well as "corruption on Earth," a Quranic term and charge that has been used against others in the decades since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and carries the death penalty.

Activists claim that at least 16 people have been sentenced to death in closed-door hearings on protest-related charges. In Iran, death sentences are typically carried out by hanging.

According to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has closely monitored the unrest, at least 517 protesters have been killed and over 19,200 people have been arrested. The Iranian government has not released an official count of those killed or detained.

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The protests began in mid-September, when Amini, 22, was arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code. Women have taken the lead in the protests, with many publicly removing the Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab.

The demonstrations are one of the most serious challenges to Iran's theocracy since the 1979 revolution. According to rights groups, security forces used live ammunition, bird shot, tear gas, and batons to disperse protesters.