Two men in Iran hanged for degrading the Quran and Prophet Muhammad

The judiciary of Iran announced on Monday that two individuals, Sadrollah Fazeli Zare and Youssef Mehrdad, were executed by hanging for desecrating the Koran and insulting Prophet Mohammad. The Mizan Online website reported that the accused had previously been convicted of burning the Koran and insulting the Prophet Mohammad, and that one of them had confessed to posting insulting content on social media during a court session in March 2021. The two were also accused of managing social media channels and groups that promoted atheism and insulted Islamic sanctities.

Amnesty International and other rights groups report that Iran executes more individuals annually than any other nation except China. In April, two rights groups reported that Iran had hanged 75% more people in 2022 than the previous year, with at least 582 people executed in 2022, the highest number since 2015. In a joint report, Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty noted that this figure was significantly higher than the 333 executions recorded in 2021. On Saturday, Iran executed Swedish-Iranian dissident Habib Chaab for terrorism, a move that was condemned by Sweden and the European Union.