Iran Preparing For Public Execution Of Two Men Over Shrine Attack
Iran is preparing to hang two men for their alleged role in a deadly attack on a Shia shrine in Shiraz last year.
Iran is preparing to hang two men for their alleged role in a deadly attack on a Shia shrine in Shiraz last year.
Fars province's Chief Justice, Kazem Mousavi, confirmed the public executions would take place "soon" in a show of force by the regime which has stepped up the rate of its public executions in recent months.
Public executions are becoming a tool of deterrence as the regime loses control under the continuing revolutionary tide.
After being convicted for aiding in "corruption on earth, armed rebellion, and acts against national security", the two men were sentenced to death in March.
On October 26, Mousavi said they played a direct role in the "arming, procurement, logistics, and guidance of the main perpetrator" of the terrorist attack at the Shah Cheragh mausoleum.
Over a dozen were killed and 30 injured in the attack on the shrine in October while it was claimed by the militant group Islamic State.
CCTV footage broadcast on state TV showed the attacker entering the popular Shah Cheragh shrine in the southern city of Shiraz after hiding an assault rifle in a bag and shooting as worshippers tried to flee and hide in corridors.
The gunman, identified as a citizen of Tajikistan, later died in a hospital from injuries sustained during the attack.
Three other men received jail sentences ranging from five to 25 years in the trial, Mousavi said, adding that several other "Daesh (Islamic State) suspects linked to this case" were awaiting trial.
In terms of the number of executions conducted annually, Iran ranks second only to China. IHR, a Norwegian group that advocates human rights in Iran, reports that at least 270 people have been executed since 2023
