Iran regime forces accused of torching executed protester’s grave on his birthday

Iranian regime forces set fire to the grave of an executed protester on his birthday, his cousin said on Thursday.

Majid Kazemi, who would have turned 31 on Thursday, was executed last month alongside Saleh Mirhashemi and Saeed Yaghoubi. The three had been convicted of “war against God” for allegedly drawing a gun during a protest in the central city of Isfahan, resulting in the deaths of three members of the security forces.

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Mohammad Hashemi, a cousin of Kazemi based in Australia, said on Twitter that Kazemi’s family received a call from security forces Wednesday evening warning them against visiting his grave on his birthday.

“Then in the middle of the night, their agents went to the cemetery and set Majid’s grave on fire,” Hashemi wrote in a tweet that included an image of Kazemi's torched grave.

Kazemi, Mirhashemi and Yaghoubi were arrested in November and received death sentences in January.

Iran experienced months of anti-regime protests following the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested by the morality police in Tehran three days prior to her death for allegedly breaching the country’s strict dress rules for women.

Last month, vandals also targeted Amini’s grave at a cemetery in the Kurdish city of Saqqez, where her tombstone and portrait were damaged.

Amini’s brother, Ashkan Amini, shared the incident on Instagram, saying it was the second attack in recent months.

Iranian authorities viewed the protests that followed Amini’s death as “riots” backed by foreign powers and responded with a violent crackdown, resulting in the deaths of hundreds and the arrest of thousands, according to human rights groups.

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