Amidst protests against the authoritarian Islamic regime in Iran, on Monday, December 12, a 23-year-old anti-government protestor was publicly executed. Majidreza Rahnavard was hanged in public in the city of Mashhad.
Rahnavard was executed after a revolutionary court convicted him of ‘waging war against Allah’ by allegedly stabbing two members of the Basij Resistance Force to death.
Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, Director of a Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, shared the video of Rahnavard before he was executed.
When asked about what he wrote in his will, Rahnavard said, “I don’t want anyone to pray, or to cry, I want everyone to be happy and play happy music.”
A Twitter user who goes by the username @1500tasvir_en and who has been monitoring the protests in Iran ever since the tragic death of Mahsa Amini said that Rahnavard’s family was informed about his execution only after it was carried out.
It posted the picture of the last meeting of Majidreza Rahnvard with his mother and said that his mother had no idea about the court orders to execute her son. She left hoping that her son will be released soon unbeknownst of the terrible fate awaiting her son.
In another tweet, the Twitter user said the residence of Rahanvard’s grandmother was attacked on December 12 while his uncle and brother were arrested. “Last night (Dec. 12) the brutes of the Islamic Republic attacked #MajidrezaRahnavard’s grandmother’s residence, arresting his uncle and brother for a few hours. They took away all the banners and flowers for the ceremony and then forcefully evicted the family from their own home,” 1500 Tasvir tweeted.
On December 12, Rahnavard’s mother arrived when the authorities were burying Rahnavard’s body alone.
Rahnavard’s execution comes a week after a 23-year-old anti-government protestor Mohsin Shekari was executed for allegedly attacking a Basij force member with a machete. He too was accused of ‘waging war against Allah.’
On October 26, a 19-year-old celebrity chef Mershad Shahidi was beaten to death by Iranian security forces after he was detained for participating in the protests in Arak city.
Iran saw a wave of protests after a 22-year-old girl named Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran’s Morality Police that detained her for improperly donning her headscarf. Several Iranian citizens hit the streets in solidarity with Amini. In support of the victims, a number of women, including schoolgirls, burnt their hijabs, and women everywhere chopped their hair in protest. Protests broke out in hundreds of places around the nation after her death.