Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare, having protested the Iranian regime and allegedly spoken against Islam, were sentenced to death by Iranian authorities and later executed in May 2023.
Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare were arrested, detained, and sentenced to death in the wake of the 2022-23 Iranian protests following the murder of Mahsa Amini. Among the accusations they faced were reportedly blasphemy against Islamic sanctities and apostasy. They were reported in Iran to have been "running dozens of online anti-religion platforms."
"Today's execution of Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare for 'apostasy' marks a shocking new low for Iran's authorities & only furthers Iran’s pariah status." - statement from Amnesty International
In May 2023, the Iranian regime followed through on the death sentence. Yousef and Sadrollah were executed, two further victims in a string of hundreds that Iran had executed since the outbreak of protests against the regime in 2022.
Yousef was reportedly a father of three.
Two Iranian Prisoners At Risk Of Execution Over Blasphemy - Iran International
Iran hangs two men for blasphemy - Reuters
Iran is a theocratic Islamic republic that derives its legal principles from Islamic religious law. As such, blasphemy and apostasy can be and are punished with death. Although there is no codified apostasy law in the penal code, this does not prevent its punishment in accordance with Islamic legal principles, and blasphemy is codified as a capital offense within the penal code. Iran has a poor track record on human rights, and if these “offenses” do not result in death, they may result in imprisonment or torture. Those who stand accused of either must also fear reprisal from non-state actors, though documented incidents of such reprisals are not as prominent as in some other countries.