The Iranian court stated that two people referred to as "Quran burners" were hanged in Iran for blasphemy convictions and conducting anti-religious acts.
The men, identified as Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare, were hanged on Monday after a case that began three years ago when the judiciary was alerted to an unnamed group publishing "obscene" content, according to Al Jazeera. Mehrdad was among several people summoned by the judiciary at the time,
As per the Iranian judiciary, Mehrdad was discovered to be the primary administrator and organizer of 15 online groups and channels that spread content opposing Islam, its prophets and promoting atheism.
The judiciary also claimed that Mehrdad collaborated with Fazeli Zare, who was accused of running 20 online groups that go against religion.
The gravity of their insults against religion was such that the Iran Supreme Court did not cite any of them directly in the ruling that led to the execution of both men. Additionally, the judiciary stated that Mehrdad's phone contained a publicly shared video of the Quran being burned.
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Human Rights Group Condemn Iran Executions
The United Nations experts have called on majority Shi'ite Muslim Iran to stop persecution and harassment of religious minorities, highlighting an Iranian policy of targeting dissenting beliefs or religious practices, including Christian converts and atheists, according to WION.
According to human rights organizations like Amnesty International, Iran has the second-highest rate of annual executions worldwide, second only to China.
In April, two rights groups revealed that the number of executions in Iran had increased by 75% in 2022 compared to the previous year.
A joint report by Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), based in Norway and Paris, respectively, disclosed that at least 582 people were executed in Iran last year, per The Times of Israel. This figure is the highest number of executions in the country since 2015 and significantly higher than the 333 reported in 2021.
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