Don’t Read Quran, Celebrate: Iranian Man’s Last Wish Before Execution
A 23-year-old executed in Iran in relation to the anti-government demonstrations has left instructions before his death that no one is to mourn him or read Quran at his grave. Majidreza Rahnavard was hanged in public on Monday in the city of Mashhad.
Rahnavard’s execution took place four days after Mohsen Shekari, also aged 23, was executed on charges of wounding a member of the security forces. It was the first case of death penalty being used against a protester, defying international outcry.
A video surfaced today that showed Rahnavard expressing what was probably his last wishes. In it, Rahnavard, blindfolded and flanked by two masked guards, is seen speaking to the camera.
“I don’t want anyone to mourn upon my grave. I don’t want them to read Quran or pray. Just celebrate and play celebrating music,” read the translation supers. The authenticity of the video could not be verified by Viralvdoz.
Darya Safai, a Member of the Belgian Parliament and a Women’s rights activist tweeted:
Rahnavard was sentenced to death by a court for stabbing two members of the security forces and injuring four other people, the justice agency Mizan Online reported.
The director of Oslo-based Iran Human Rights, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said Rahnavard “was sentenced to death based on a coerced confession after … a show trial”, AFP reported.
“The public execution of a young protester, 23 days after his arrest, is another serious crime committed by the leaders of the Islamic Republic,” he was quoted as saying by AFP.
Social media channel 1500tasvir, which monitors the protest, said his family was only informed of the execution after it was carried out, AFP reported. It released images of the convict’s last meeting with his mother, saying she left not knowing she was going to die.
Anti-government protests have been rocking the regime for months. Iran calls the protests “riots” and says they were encouraged by its foreign enemies.
The protests began four months ago after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian Iranian arrested by morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women, was executed in custody.
The protests represent the biggest challenge to the regime since the overthrow of the Shah in 1979 and have been met with a crackdown that activists say is aimed at instilling fear among the people.
The executions drew a sharp rebuke from Iran’s arch-enemy the United States, with State Department spokesman Ned Price saying they “underscore how much Iran’s leadership really fears its own people.”
