The firing squad is legal, but seldom used in Iran today. Historically, it was used for military and political crimes. In 1974, under the Shah's regime, Marxist activists Khosrow Golesorkhi and Keramat Daneshian were executed by firing squad on charges of conspiring to kidnap Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince of Iran. They were shot after a televised trial in Tehran. This case was one of the big events that turned public opinion against the Shah. During the 38 years in which the Shah reigned, 1,000 or more people were sentenced to death for crimes against the government, mostly by firing squad after conviction by a special SAVAK military tribunal. After the 1953 coup, scores of Communists were executed. Common criminals were executed mostly by hanging in this period.