Iran publicly executed a man on Monday by hanging him from a crane, BBC News reported, making him the second person to be put to death by the government in relation to the country’s ongoing protests.
Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, was hanged in the city of Mashhad, Iran’s judiciary said. His death was confirmed by the Iranian news agency Mizan Online, which published pictures of Rahnavard’s execution and body.
Rahnavard’s death comes less than a month after he was convicted of “enmity against God” after being found guilty of stabbing two members of Iran’s paramilitary resistance force, killing them.
His execution marks the second related to protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody after being arrested for not wearing a hijab. Her death sparked a major uproar among the country’s youth, who began rebelling against the ruling clerical regime. Watchdog groups have been warning that Iran has been sentencing protesters to death following sham trials that allowed for no due process.
This appeared to be the case with Rahnavard. According to the Iranian activist group 1500tasvir, Rahnavard’s family was not even aware that he was going to be executed. “[Iran] allowed #MajidRezaRahnavard’s mother to visit him, and didn’t speak of execution at all,” the group tweeted. “She left smiling and hoping that her son would be released soon.”
“This morning she arrived when her son’s murderers were burying his dead body alone,” the group added, saying a government official had called to notify Rahnavard’s family that he had been killed.
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