LONDON — Iran’s government has spent months violently cracking down on protests gripping the country. The first known executions of people arrested over the monthslong protests prompted an outcry from Western governments and human rights activists, but they came as little surprise to those involved in the demonstrations or carefully watching them from afar. Human rights groups and Western governments say Iran’s judicial system is based on sham trials behind closed doors. A week earlier, Iran executed another man, Mohsen Shekari, for allegedly blocking a road in Tehran and stabbing a pro-government militia member who required stitches. Around a dozen others have been sentenced to death, according to human rights groups.

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