According to an AP news report, Iran executed two men on Monday for blasphemy, a rare occurrence for this crime in the country.

Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare were accused of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad and promoting atheism through a Telegram channel called "Critique of Superstition and Religion."

The men had been arrested in May 2020 and had faced months of solitary confinement without contact with their families. Iran has been on an execution streak, with at least 203 prisoners executed since the start of 2023 alone, according to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.

Executions for blasphemy have been rare in Iran, with authorities often reducing sentences for the crime.

The executions of the two men have been condemned by human rights activists and organizations, with Iran Human Rights stating that the international community must show that executions for expressing opinions are intolerable.

The streak of executions comes after months of unrest in Iran following the September death of Mahsa Amini, which led to mass protests against the country's theocracy.