Iran has executed a man of Uzbek descent who killed two Shi’ite clerics and wounded another in an attack in April at the Imam Reza shrine, which honors one of the most revered figures in Shi’ite Islam.
The death sentence against Abdolatif Moradi was carried out by hanging at the Vakilabad prison in the northeastern city of Mashhad on June 20, the provincial chief justice, Gholamali Sadeghi, said.
The attack on April 5, which happened during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, killed clerics Hojatoleslam Mohammad Aslani and Mohammad Sadegh Daraei. Moradi was 21 at the time of the attack.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has described it as a “terrorist attack,” while other officials have blamed “takfiri elements,” a reference to radical Sunni Islamist groups.
Just two days prior to the attack, two Sunni clerics were shot to death in a mosque in the northern town of Gonbad Kavus.
Sunnis comprise between 5 and 10 percent of Iran’s population of 83 million people, the majority of whom are Shi’ite.
Source » rferl