Tehran: ‘No one should recite Quran on my grave nor mourn after my death’. This was the last wish of 23-year-old Majid Reza Rahnavard, who was executed in connection with the ongoing anti-hijab protests movement in the country for nearly three months.
On Monday, December 12, Majid Reza Rahnavard was publicly executed in the city of Mashhad after he was convicted of killing two members of the security forces during his participation in the demonstrations.
A video emerged on social media platforms showing Rahnavard expressing what was likely his last wish. In it, Rahnward is seen, blindfolded and surrounded by two masked guards, talking to the camera.
Darya Safai, a member of the Belgian Parliament Committee, tweeted the video of Rahnavard.
“I don’t want anyone to mourn upon my grave. I don’t want them to recite Quran or pray. Just celebrate and play celebrating music,” Rahnavard said as translated in the video subtitles.
“Just before he’s hanged on Dec.12 by Iran’s regime,they interrogate #MajidrezaRahnavard His last words: I don’t want Quran to be read or prayed on my grave, just celebrate Sharia law is the reason he’s gone His verdict: War with Allah Only because he demonstrated for his rights,” Safai tweeted.
The death sentence was issued against Rahnavard “on November 29, after he killed two members of the security forces with a white weapon and injured four others.”
According to the Twitter account 1500tasvir, which tracks protests, his family was only informed of the execution after it had already taken place.
Iran has been shaken by violent protests since September 16, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, three days after the morality police detained her in Tehran because of the country’s strict dress code.
At least 495 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in mid-September, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been monitoring the protests. Another 18,450 people have been detained by authorities.
