Iran executed two men over an attack on a shrine that killed at least 13 people in October. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State. Iranian state media reported that the two were hanged at dawn in the southern city of Shiraz.
During the trial the men said that they had been in contact with the Islamic State in Afghanistan and helped organise the attack on the Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz.
What happened at the Shah Cheragh shrine?
An attacker entered the shrine after hiding an assault rifle in a bag and shot as worshippers tried to flee and hide in corridors. The gunman was identified as a citizen of Tajikistan. He later died in a hospital from injuries sustained during the attack.
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What is Iran's record on executions this year?
Iran hanged at least 354 people in the first six months of 2023, a rights group said. The pace of executions was much higher than in 2022, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said accusing Iran of increasing the use of death penalty to cause panic and fear following the widespread protests which erupted last September over the custodial death of Mahsa Amini.
206 people were executed for drug-related charges, a 126 per cent rise compared to the same period last year, the group said.
{{/usCountry}}206 people were executed for drug-related charges, a 126 per cent rise compared to the same period last year, the group said.
{{/usCountry}}“The death penalty is used to create societal fear and prevent more protests. The majority of those killed are low-cost victims of the killing machine, drug defendants who are from the most marginalised communities,” IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.