The city of Sirjan witnessed a small revolt yesterday when thousands of protesters halted the execution of two convicted criminals.Esmayil Fathalizade and Mohammad Esfandiarpoor were scheduled to be publicly hanged for possession of illegal firearms and robbery before relatives of the two disrupted the execution. It did not take long before the group of 5,000 some-odd protesters that had amassed at the execution site began shouting insults at security personnel, and as stones soon started being hurled, officials responded with tear gas. In the chaos, both Fathalizade and Esfandiarpoor managed to escape. They were both rearrested in nearby village.
According to reports, the local governor's office rescheduled the execution for later in the day and requested IRGC reinforcements from the nearby city of Kerman. Upon first sight of Basijis and Revolutionary Guard agents, however, protesters began attacking security personnel. After orders were to open fire on the crowd, at least five people while seven remain critically injured. (The total number injured is over twenty-five.) Several security vehicles were also lit on fire, and a state of emergency was declared over Sirjan declared soon thereafter.
Not surprisingly, the Ministry of Intelligence has also banned reporting on the incident.
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UPDATE: Amazing footage of the actual rescue of the two prisoners has surfaced, and is embedded below:
