Groom Executed Hours After Prison Wedding Ceremony

Alireza Sepahi, 25, and Mahshad Keshani, 22, were arrested during anti-regime protests earlier this year. Keshani, reportedly eager to formalize their union before Sepahi's potential execution, initiated the idea of a prison wedding.

Their fathers joined the ceremony over the phone from inside Isfahan prison, with a rights lawyer assisting in officiating the event. The couple's vows were read aloud, and Keshani's family offered a copy of the Quran, saffron rock candy, and a red rose as dowry. The lawyer, Amirsalar Davoudi, described Keshani's courage and expressed the difficulty of reconciling the event, suggesting it was the regime's way of retaliating for international humiliation.

Just hours after the ceremony, Sepahi was executed by hanging at Isfahan’s Shahid Alikhani Square. This location has been used for public hangings by the regime as a means of intimidation. Sepahi's cousin, Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani, was among those previously hanged at the same square. Sepahi and his co-defendant Alireza Raisi were among 12 individuals accused of killing four security guards during protests. Human rights groups have alleged that the defendants were coerced into false confessions under torture.

This was not Sepahi's first brush with execution. Earlier in the summer, he had reportedly suffered a heart attack on his way to the gallows, which led to his death sentence being temporarily stayed. He recovered and was allowed a final family visit prior to his execution, indicating his death was imminent.

Keshani's insistence on the wedding, despite the grave circumstances, was reportedly met with emotional reactions, even from prison officers. Following Sepahi's execution, his family was reportedly prevented from burying him in his hometown.