Iran publicly hangs 2 men over deadly shrine attack

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran on Saturday executed two men over involvement in an attack on a popular shrine in southern Fars province that killed 13 people.

The two men, identified as Mohammad Ramez Rashidi and Naeim Hashem Qetali, were publicly executed in Shiraz, the capital city of Fars province, Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, reported.

Their sentences were earlier upheld by Iran’s apex court after appeals filed by their lawyers were turned down.

At least 13 people were killed and 40 others injured when a heavily-armed man opened indiscriminate fire inside the Shah Cheragh shrine in the city of Shiraz on October 26, 2022.

The 12th-century shrine, which houses the grave of a revered Shia scholar, is a popular attraction for local and foreign tourists in southern Fars province.

CCTV footage released by police after the attack showed a lone gunman barging inside the shrine and firing at guards and pilgrims before being nailed down by police forces.

The attacker, identified by Iranian media outlets as Hamed Badakhshan, succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack days later at a hospital in Shiraz.

The Daesh/ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in Iran in many years.

In March, a court in Fars province sentenced two people to death over the attack after being convicted of “aiding in corruption on earth, rebellion and action against national security.”

The two men, Iranian judicial authorities said, were “directly involved in the arming, procurement, support and guidance” of the main perpetrator of the attack.

The other three defendants in the high-profile case were given 5, 15, and 25 years respectively for being members of the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group in Iran.

A total of 42 people were arrested in connection with the attack that sent shockwaves across the country and led to calls for retaliation.

Top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi, at the time vowed to punish the perpetrators of the attack.

It was the first major attack in Iran claimed by Daesh/ISIS since 2017, when five heavily-armed men attacked the Iranian Parliament and the mausoleum of the country’s founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, in Tehran.

The Shiraz shrine attack came amid widespread protests in Iran over the death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.