Two men were executed early Monday morning in Iran for blasphemy convictions that included organising anti-religious activities, the Iranian judiciary announced.
The two men – Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare – were accused of being involved in a channel on messaging app, Telegram which authorities claimed insulted Islam’s Prophet Mohammed and promoted atheism.
They were also accused of having contact with anti-religious networks and burning the Koran or sharing an image of the act of burning Islam’s holy book on the Telegram channel.
Iranian officials confirmed the men were hanged and died at Arak Prison in central Iran.
Human rights activists have for years criticised the frequent use of the death penalty in Iran. The country has one of the highest execution figures in the world.
Iran has already executed 199 prisoners so far this year, according to a report several days ago by the Norway-based Kurdish human rights organization, Hengaw.
Blasphemy can carry the death penalty in Iran but executions in such cases are usually rare in the country ruled by Shia clerics.
