[ad_1]
Iran hanged two men convicted of blasphemy on Monday, and imposed a rare death penalty for the crime, authorities said, as executions surged in the Islamic Republic following months of unrest.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
Iran remains one of the world’s most prolific executioners, executing at least 203 prisoners since the start of this year alone, according to the Oslo-based Iranian human rights group. But executions for blasphemy remain rare, as authorities have commuted sentences in previous cases.
The two executed men, Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare, died in Arak prison in central Iran. They were arrested in May 2020 and accused of participating in a channel called “Superstition and Religious Criticism” on the Telegram messaging app, according to the USCIRF. Both faced months in solitary confinement without contact with their families, the committee said.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
Iran’s judiciary’s Mizan news agency confirmed the execution, saying the two had insulted Islam’s prophet Muhammad and promoted atheism.
Mizan also accused them of burning Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, but it’s unclear whether the men allegedly did so, or if the images were shared in the Telegram channel.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, who leads human rights in Iran, condemned the executions for exposing the “medieval nature” of Iran’s theocracy.
“The international community must, by its response, demonstrate that executions for expression of opinion will not be tolerated,” he said in a statement. “The international community’s refusal to react decisively opens the door for the Iranian government and all like-minded Green light.”
It is unclear when Iran last carried out an execution for blasphemy. Other countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, also allow the death penalty for blasphemy.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
Months of protests have cooled following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in September after being arrested by the country’s morality police following the serial executions, which included members of Iran’s minority And so it came.
At least four people accused of crimes involved in the demonstrations have been executed. More than 500 people were reportedly killed and another 19,000 arrested in the protests, one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In 2022, Iran executed at least 582 people, up from 333 in 2021, according to Iranian human rights groups. Amnesty International’s latest report on executions ranks Iran as the world’s second-leading executioner after China, with thousands believed to be executed each year.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
[ad_2]
Source link