A 16-year-old boy is facing the death penalty in Iran accused of insulting the hardline Islamic state’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Teen Amirreza Bagheri – from Tabriz in north-western Iran – is understood to have been seized over anti-government protests sweeping the country.

He is facing trial for ‘insulting the leader of the Islamic Republic’ and for ‘propaganda against the regime’, according to independent media reports.

The charges are generally seen as catch-all offences for anyone the regime wants to seize.

But if convicted, the boy could face a lengthy jail sentence or even the death penalty.

Iranian forces have been cracking down on waves of civil disorder following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, from Saqqez, Kurdistan Province.

She was on a visit to Tehran when she was arrested by morality police, accused of violating hijab rules on 13th September 2022.

She was allegedly beaten while in custody and spent the following days in a coma in the hospital before succumbing in the ICU on 16th September.

The clinic where she was treated said in a now-deleted social media post that she had been admitted brain-dead.

Alleged medical scans of her skull leaked by hackers showed that she had suffered bone fractures, haemorrhages, and brain oedema.

Independent Iranian media have claimed that Mahsa’s medical records showing a history of heart disease that officials gave as the cause of death were faked by the Iranian government.

Numbers differ regarding how many people have been killed since the protests began.

The ongoing protests in Iran have killed at least 516 people, according to independent estimates.

It is also understood that more than 19,200 people have been arrested.