In recent days, alongside heightened warnings and threats from judicial and security officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the suppression of potential protests, grave concerns have escalated over the status of individuals facing the death penalty in connection with protests and political/security-related cases.
On August 31, 2026, Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje’i, the Head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, stated: “If they intend to spark riots or unrest in Iran again, they should be certain that they will receive a very strong and decisive response.” Referring to what he described as “anti-security actions,” he also affirmed the readiness of responsible bodies to confront such activities.
Prior to this, the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement on August 27, 2026, warning against what it characterized as “exaggerating and exploiting internal weaknesses, shortages, and limitations,” “inciting the public to bring dissatisfaction to the streets,” and “disrupting stability and diminishing national resilience,” framing “confronting any action that disrupts public peace” as one of its primary duties. Additionally, Ahmad Bakhshayesh, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis), acknowledged that livelihood hardships and prevailing economic conditions have heightened the motivation for protest among a segment of society.
In this climate, the issuance, confirmation, and imminent implementation of a series of death sentences against individuals linked to protest cases in Isfahan and other parts of the country have raised profound questions and critical concerns regarding the right to life, the right to a fair trial, and the use of the death penalty against public protest participants. On the other hand, concurrently, reports indicate a significant surge in the number of executions across various Iranian prisons—an issue requiring urgent attention and review by United Nations human rights mechanisms.
Death Sentences Issued in Protest-Related Cases
Under these conditions, Judges Morteza Barati and Mohammadreza Tavakoli in Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan sentenced 10 prisoners associated with the uprising in the case known as the “Isfahan Shohada Square” to death. A significant portion of the charges against them relates to “Moharebeh” (enmity against God), “destruction of public property amounting to Moharebeh,” “assembly and collusion,” and “propaganda against the state.”
The primary violations of fair trial standards documented in this case include holding court sessions inside prison, restricting defense lawyers’ access to case files, and issuing death sentences prior to investigating formal complaints regarding torture and sexual assault. Notably, there are no murder charges in the indictment against these ten defendants.
Ahmadreza Saeedi stated during an official court session and in the presence of the judges that he was subjected to torture during interrogation. According to case file details, the interrogator inflicted severe injuries on his neck and genitals using an electric taser. Despite these disclosures made in a formal judicial proceeding, the court issued his death sentence without investigating the interrogation conditions, conducting an independent medical examination, or determining the validity of statements extracted during detention.
One of the female defendants in the Isfahan Shohada Square case filed a complaint regarding sexual assault during her detention. Notwithstanding the severity of this allegation and the imperative for an immediate medical and judicial investigation, the court proceeded to render its verdict without addressing the complaint.
The ten individuals sentenced to death are:
- Taraneh Rahimi
Navid Elyasi- Abolfazl Dadgostar
- Mehdi Mansouri
- Ahmadreza Saeedi
Mehrdad Boeiri- Mohammadmehdi Asadi
- Armin Gholami
- Parsa Jafari
- Mehdi Jafari
Additionally, six other co-defendants in this case received long-term prison terms: Romina Rahimi (sister of Taraneh Rahimi) and Milad Boeiri were each sentenced to 25 years; Hamed Mehr-Alian to 15 years; and Setayesh Saedi, Sajjad Abedi, and Ali Boeiri to 5 years of imprisonment each.
who was arrested during the 1404 nationwide protests in Shahin Shahr, Isfahan, was sentenced to death on the charge of “Moharebeh” by Branch 5 of the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan. This sentence was issued under the presidency of Judge Vahid Hemmatnejad. Leila Abolhasani was arrested on January 8, 2026, during the Shahin Shahr protests; relatives state that at the time of her arrest, she was filming the burning of an Ofogh Koorosh store.
Furthermore, the legal counsel for Ali Asghar Peyghambari announced that his client’s death sentence, imposed in connection with the protests, was affirmed by the Supreme Court. This prisoner was recently transferred from Fashafouyeh (Greater Tehran) Prison to Ghezel Hesar Prison—a facility serving as the primary site for executing capital sentences.
Concerns Over the Imminent Execution Risk of Alireza Sepahi
According to statements by the defense counsel for Alireza Sepahi, one of the defendants in the case known as the “Isfahan Alikhani Square,” his file has once again been forwarded to the Sentence Enforcement Office for execution.
Based on this report, Branch 39 of the Supreme Court had previously accepted a request for judicial review (E’adeye Dadrasi); however, a parallel branch of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court rejected the request without holding a hearing or receiving defense submissions, referring the case back for sentence implementation.
His attorney, Ms. Shahrzad Shahbazi, stated that she will submit a new petition for judicial review; nevertheless, grave concern persist regarding the potential execution of the sentence prior to a re-examination of the case file.
Alireza Sepahi was previously scheduled for execution on the morning of Tuesday, July 28, 2026, alongside co-defendants Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi. Prior to being moved to the execution hall, he suffered a stroke and was transferred to a hospital due to his critical physical state. The other two defendants in the same case, Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi, were executed at that time.
Surge in Executions at the August 2026
Documented data demonstrates that at least 23 prisoners were executed in various prisons across Iran between August 23 and August 26, 2026—representing an average of one execution every four hours. Among those executed were at least three women.
These executions were recorded in numerous facilities, including Ghezel Hesar, Lakan (Rasht), Zahedan, Yazd, Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Karaj, Maku, Semnan, Dehdasht, Khorramabad, and Sari prisons.
The continued widespread application of capital punishment in Iran—particularly amidst international concerns regarding fair trial standards, legal representation, procedural transparency, and the imposition of the death penalty in political and security cases—causes escalating concern among human rights institutions.
Human Rights Considerations
As the most severe criminal penalty, the death penalty under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) may only be applied under the most restricted circumstances and following full adherence to fair trial guarantees. Furthermore, Articles 14 and 15 of the ICCPR emphasize the right to a fair trial, effective defense, access to legal counsel, and the principles of legality in crimes and penalties.
Reports documenting the sentencing of protesters to death, the rejection of judicial review applications without open hearings, and procedural irregularities require independent and transparent evaluation by international human rights bodies.
Requests for Action by United Nations Mechanisms
In light of the surge in death sentences in protest-related cases, the imminent execution risks facing several individuals, and recent statements by judicial and security authorities of the Islamic Republic regarding the suppression of prospective protests, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and other relevant UN mechanisms are urged to:
- Issue a joint Urgent Appeal regarding the cases of Taraneh Rahimi, Navid Elyasi, Abolfazl Dadgostar, Mehdi Mansouri, Ahmadreza Saeedi, Mehrdad Boeiri, Mohammadmehdi Asadi, Armin Gholami, Parsa Jafari, Mehdi Jafari, Leila Abolhasani, Ali Asghar Peyghambari, and Alireza Sepahi, demanding an immediate halt to their executions.
- Explicitly document these cases in upcoming official reports to the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly, naming the individuals involved to establish international accountability for judicial and security decision-makers.
- Call upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to publish comprehensive information regarding the judicial proceedings, evidentiary bases for convictions, defendants’ access to chosen legal counsel, the status of judicial review applications, and the legal grounds for issuing death sentences.
- Analyze the pattern of increasing protest-related death sentences as a alarming systemic trend involving the use of capital punishment against political activity and public protests within UN thematic reports.
- Request the UN Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to prioritize the status of these cases within their formal communications and reports on Iran.
- Urge UN Member States to explicitly raise the escalation of executions and protest-related death sentences in Iran during sessions of the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly, and other international forums.
- Call for an immediate moratorium on the implementation of all protest-related death sentences pending independent international reviews, given the irreversible nature of capital punishment.
Relevant UN mechanisms are further requested to gather and archive information concerning the roles and responsibilities of individuals involved in these proceedings to preserve records for future accountability and international fact-finding processes.
