They married by phone from separate prison cells. They executed a groom the morning after his wedding. Alireza Sepahi and Mahshad Kashani were engaged before they were arrested during Iran’s January uprising. Mahshad, just 22, was sentenced to five years in prison. Alireza was sentenced to death. The day before his execution, they were married over the phone. Their fathers listened as the vows were read. No embrace. No kiss. No holding hands. Just two voices saying “I do” through a prison telephone, while the Islamic Republic was preparing the gallows. This was not the first time they tried to kill him. In July, Alireza was taken to be publicly hanged. Minutes before reaching the gallows, under enormous psychological pressure, he suffered a heart attack. They rushed him to hospital. Then they sent him back to prison. Today, they came back for him. This morning, the Islamic Republic hanged Alireza Sepahi. He was 25 years old. For one day, he had a wife. He never got to hold her as his wife. He never got to kiss her goodbye. Think about the cruelty of a regime that is so terrified of young people that it cannot even tolerate their love. 💔