Iran executes two members of banned opposition group: judiciary

TEHRAN: Iran on Saturday executed two men convicted of membership in a banned opposition group and carrying out disruptive actions aimed at overthrowing the Islamic republic, the judiciary said.

The executions were the latest in a series targeting members of the banned People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), after four other convicted members of the group were executed earlier in the week.

They also come against the backdrop of Iran’s war with the United States and Israel, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on February 28 that killed the country’s supreme leader and have since triggered a wider regional conflict.

“Abolhassan Montazer and Vahid Baniamerian … were hanged after trial and their sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said on Saturday.

The men were found guilty of attempting “rebellion through involvement in multiple terrorist acts”, as well as membership in the MEK group and carrying out acts of sabotage aimed at overthrowing the Islamic republic.

It was not immediately clear when the men were arrested.

The MEK, which initially supported the 1979 Islamic revolution before falling out with the leadership in the 1980s, has since been in exile and is designated a terrorist organisation by Tehran.

Iran is the world’s second most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups.

Since the war began, it has executed multiple individuals, including on Thursday, when authorities executed a man convicted of acting on behalf of Israel and the United States during a wave of anti-government protests earlier this year.

On March 19, three others convicted of killing police officers during the protests were also executed.

Also in March, Iran executed Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national, on charges of spying for Israel, drawing condemnation from Stockholm and the European Union.