Two executed in Iran for “desecrating” the Koran

The two men who would create an internet group to “insult” the Quran were executed this Monday in Iran. They were accused of “blasphemy” against the Muslim faith and the Prophet Muhammad hanged in the early hours of the morning after spending three years in prison.

In 2020, authorities discovered that Sadrolá Fazeli Zarei and Yusef Mehrdad were spreading anti-Islamic content via Telegram. They would even make a video of Mehrdad burning the Koran. Then both were arrested in the cities of Yasuj and Ardabil for coordinating the publication “vulgar images” and “insults to holy places”.

A year later, Zarei confessed his activities in court and was sentenced to death along with Mehrdad. However, numerous civil and non-governmental organizations condemned it recognition of this type of crime is usually associated with ill-treatment or torturethereby casting doubt on its validity.

Tehran has intensified its persecution of critics of Islam in recent years. In an attempt to distance themselves from Christianity or atheism, authorities hanged 582 people in 2022, according to a report released in April by the non-governmental organizations Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). The figure for the previous year was 75% higher than that of 2021 and the highest since 2015. Iran is the second country that executes more people after Chinaaccording to several organizations, including Amnesty International.