two men hanged in public for attacking a shrine

Iran on Saturday July 8 publicly hanged two men involved in the attack on a Shiite shrine in Shiraz, in the south of the country, which had killed 13 people in 2022, according to Mizan Online, the site of the judiciary.

Perpetrated on October 26, the attack, which also left 30 injured, was among the deadliest in recent years in Iran. It had been claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). The two men, whose nationality was not specified, were hanged in a street in Shiraz.

Convicted of “corruption on earth”

According to the official Irna news agency, the executions took place near the shrine, a very important Shiite pilgrimage site in Iran. Mizan Online identified the two executed men as Mohammad Ramez Rashidi and Naeem Hashem Qatali. According to this agency, Rashidi had confessed to collaborating with the group that carried out the attack.

In March, a court sentenced them to death after convicting them of “corruption on earth, armed rebellion and undermining national security”. They were also charged with belonging to the Islamic State group and “conspiracy against the security of the country”. In November, authorities said that 26 “Takfiri terrorists” from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan had been arrested in connection with the attack. In Iran, a country with a Shiite majority, the term takfiri generally refers to jihadists or supporters of radical Sunni Islam.

Public executions are relatively rare in Iran, with most hangings taking place in prisons. Iran executed 582 people in 2022, more than any other country except China, according to several human rights NGOs including Amnesty International.