Iran hangs two for involvement in election unrest

IRAN executed two members of an exiled opposition group yesterday who it said were involved in turmoil after the disputed 2009 presidential election.

It said Jafar Kazemi and Mohammadali Hajaghaie were members of the Mujahideen Khalq Organisation (MKO) and had filmed and distributed footage of huge opposition protests that erupted in Iran after the vote.

“Two members of the Monafeghin (hypocrites) group... were hanged early today,” IRNA reported, citing a statement by the prosecutor’s office.

The report said the men were “members of an active network” of MKO and were involved in post-election riots with the guidance of their leader in England.

IRNA said the pair were hanged after an appeals court upheld their death sentences.

Iran executed two people last year in connection with the vote unrest and on charges including waging war against God, trying to overthrow the Islamic establishment and being members of armed opposition groups.

The vote, which was followed by huge opposition protests, plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 revolution.

The opposition says the election was rigged to bring back President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The authorities portrayed the protests as a foreign-backed bid to undermine the Islamic government.

Thousands of people were detained after the election for fomenting unrest. Most have since been freed, but five have been sentenced to death.