Iran Executes Two Following Shiraz Shrine Shooting

In response to an assault on a shrine in the southern city of Shiraz in October that left over a dozen people dead, Iran hung two men in broad daylight on Saturday, according to the court.

The Sunni Muslim terrorist Islamic State (IS) organization claimed responsibility for the assault on Shah Cheragh, a shrine that is greatly venerated by Shiite Muslims, which occurred on October 26 and resulted in 13 fatalities and 30 injuries.

According to the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, two of the Shah Cheragh terrorist attack’s culprits were given their death sentences in front of the public this morning.

The two were executed by hanging at daybreak in Shiraz, the provincial capital of Fars, close to the shrine, according to the state news agency IRNA.

Mizan said without more explanation that they were identified as Mohammad Ramez Rashidi and Naeem Hashem Qatali.

The two individuals were convicted of “corruption on earth, armed rebellion, and acting against national security” by an Iranian court in March, and they were given the death penalty.

They were also accused of “conspiracy against the security of the country” and belonging to IS.

Chief Justice of the Fars at the time, Kazem Moussavi, said that they had a direct hand in the “arming, procurement, logistics, and guidance” of the primary offender.

According to him, three further defendants in the case received jail terms of 5, 15, and 25 years for their affiliation with IS.

According to Iranian media, one of the assailants, Hamed Badakhshan, passed away from wounds acquired during his detention, according to the police.

The Islamic Republic said in November that 26 “takfiri terrorists” from Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan had been detained in relation to the incident.

The word “takfiri” often refers to jihadists or supporters of hardline Sunni Islam in Iran, which is mostly Shiite.

More than a month had passed since nationwide demonstrations over the death in detention of a young Iranian Kurdish woman sparked the assault on the shrine.

After being detained by Tehran’s morality police for allegedly violating the nation’s clothing code for women, Mahsa Amini, 22, passed away.

When armed men and suicide bombers assaulted the Iranian parliament building in Tehran and the tomb of the Islamic republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 2017, the attacks were claimed by IS and left 17 people dead and several more injured.

In Iran, hangings are nearly exclusively carried out within jails; public executions are comparatively uncommon.

According to rights organizations like the London-based Amnesty International, Iran kills more people each year than any other country outside China.