Iran hanged two men on Monday for membership of a banned opposition group, with rights groups describing them as political prisoners and expressing fear of a surge in executions aimed at cowing the population during the Middle East war.
Akbar Daneshvarkar, 60, and Mohammad Taghavi-Sangdehi, 59, were hanged at dawn in the notorious Gehzel Hesar prison in the Tehran satellite city of Karaj for membership of the outlawed People's Mujahedin of Iran, also known as Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK).
They were executed "after confirmation and final approval of the sentence by the Supreme Court", the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.
The MEK opposed the rule of the shah and initially supported the 1979 revolution but rapidly fell out with the new clerical leadership in the 1980s. It is now based in exile and is designated as a terrorist organization by Tehran.
The group's political wing, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCIR), confirmed in a statement that the two were members of the MEK.
Its leader Maryam Rajavi said "the desperate clerical regime, in fear of the people's uprising, vainly attempts to delay the explosion of the people's anger for a short while by executing the bravest children of Iran."
Activists expressed fear that there would be a new surge in executions as authorities sought to spread fear throughout society against the backdrop of the war against Israel and the United States.
Amnesty International described the executions as arbitrary and said the two men had been subjected "to torture and other ill-treatment in detention" and also not allowed a final goodbye to families.
- 'Ruthless execution machinery' -
"Even amid the aerial bombardment, authorities are continuing their ruthless execution machinery, weaponizing the death penalty against dissidents in a desperate bid to stifle dissent and tighten their grip on power," Amnesty said.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group, said "we fear that the Islamic Republic will exploit the current wartime conditions to carry out mass executions inside prisons to instill societal fear".
IHR said the two men were political prisoners and were "subjected to physical and psychological torture, denied due process rights and sentenced to death in a process that did not meet minimum fair trial standards".
It warned that four co-defendants were "at grave and imminent risk of execution" in Ghezel Hesar prison after being sentenced to death in the same case.
Shadi Sadr, co-founder of the NGO Justice for Iran, which seeks legal accountability for rights violations in the country, said "the Iranian people are trapped between an international war and severe internal repression".
Mizan said the two executed men were charged with participating in "terrorist acts", carrying out actions aimed at overthrowing the regime, and disrupting national security.
According to the NCRI, the MEK regularly carried out actions inside Iran aimed at the clerical authorities.
Iran on March 19 executed three men who were accused of killing police officers during protests in January, the first hangings Iran has carried out related to the nationwide demonstrations that were met with a brutal crackdown by the authorities.
It also executed Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national, the same month on charges of spying for Israel, drawing condemnation from Stockholm and the EU.
Iran is the world's most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups. Last year it hanged at least 1,500 people, according to figures from IHR.
