This Saturday, Iran publicly hanged two men involved in the attack on a Shiite shrine in Shiraz, in the south of the country, which killed 13 people in 2022, according to Mizan Onlinethe website 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).
Guilty of “corruption on earth, armed rebellion and harm to national security”
“The death sentence of the perpetrators of the Shah-Cheragh terrorist attack was carried out in public this morning”, indicated Mizan Online, the official agency of the Judicial Authority. The two men, whose nationality has not been specified, were hanged in a street in Shiraz, it was said.
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 finding them guilty 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”.
Membership of the Islamic State
Kazem Moussavi, the head of the judicial authority of the province of Fars, of which Shiraz is a part, then declared that they were directly involved in the armament, supply and logistics of the main perpetrator of the attack.
The latter, identified by Iranian media as Hamed Badakhshan, died of injuries sustained during his arrest, according to the authorities. Three other defendants in this case were sentenced to 5, 15 and 25 years in prison for their membership in IS, according to Kazem Moussavi.
In November, authorities said 26 “Takfiri terrorists” from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan had been arrested in connection with the attack.
582 people executed in 2022
In Iran, a country with a Shiite majority, the term takfiri generally refers to jihadists or supporters of radical Sunni Islam. IS claimed its first attack in Iran in 2017 when gunmen and suicide bombers attacked the parliament building in Tehran and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, killing 17 and injuring tens.
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.
The attack on the Last Shrine came more than a month after protests erupted across Iran over the death in custody of a young Iranian Kurd.