Iran: 166 Protesters on Death Row Amid City Militarization

Executive Summary

This human rights report centers on the exposure of a list of 166 protesters arrested during recent uprisings who are facing death sentences, final confirmation of execution by the Supreme Court, or an imminent risk of capital punishment. Collected evidence demonstrates that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran utilizes the death penalty not as a legal judicial process, but as a lethal tool of intimidation to silence all forms of dissent. The dimensions of this human rights crisis deepen as field reports confirm that, even while holding an unprecedented number of protesters on death row, the regime has placed its street-level suppression apparatus on 100% full alert and militarized cities to prevent potential future uprisings.

The Critical Situation of 166 Protesters Condemned to or at Risk of Execution

The judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, through expedited trials lacking fair due process standards and behind the closed doors of Revolutionary Courts, has issued and upheld heavy death sentences for dozens of protesters. Charges such as “Moharebeh” (Enmity against God), “Efsad-fil-Arz” (Corruption on Earth), and “Murder” have been assigned without credible evidence and solely based on forced confessions extracted under severe torture.

A vast majority of these defendants have been denied access to independent legal counsel of their choice and are held in conditions of total incommunicado detention and extreme mental and physical strain across various prisons nationwide (including Ghezel Hesar, Adel Abad in Shiraz, Dastgerd in Isfahan, Yasuj, Bojnourd, Lakan in Rasht, and Sari).

List of 166 Protesters Sentenced to or at Risk of Execution

Note: This table includes entry number, full name, age, prison location, assigned charges, protest period, sentence status (issued, upheld, or pending before the Supreme Court), and supplementary case details for all 166 protesters.

The existence of these 166 documented cases represents only the identified portion of a broader policy designed to inflict psychological paralysis on society and deter citizens from demanding their fundamental rights through the direct threat of death.

Escalation of Street Crackdowns: As Though 166 Death Sentences Were Not Enough

The catastrophic scale of these human rights violations becomes even more evident as the regime, while holding 166 protesters on the brink of execution, implements new repressive measures across city streets to establish a pervasive atmosphere of fear and militarized control.

Reliable field data indicates that security agencies have deployed the following operational measures:

• 100% Full Readiness Alert for Repressive Forces: Full high-alert status issued to all units of the Army, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Basij, and Law Enforcement Forces (FARAJA), with all personnel leave canceled until further notice.
• Militarization of Cities and Massive Deployment: In Greater Tehran alone, over 51,000 repressive personnel (21,000 police officers and 30,000 IRGC and Basij operatives) have been stationed in major squares and secondary thoroughfares.
• Arbitrary Searches and Invasions of Privacy: Motorized patrols on sidewalks and at intersections carry out bodily searches of pedestrians and forcibly check mobile phones to identify and detain protesters.
• Establishment of New and Secret Detention Facilities: Operationalization of informal detention sites in remote, uninhabited areas for new arrests, significantly increasing the risk of severe torture and enforced disappearances.
• Equipping and Financial Incentivization of Crackdown Forces: Deployment of new anti-riot equipment and allocation of specialized budgets to increase salaries, bonuses, and mission allowances for repressive personnel.

Legal Analysis and Systematic Violation of International Conventions

The combined actions of the judiciary and security apparatus of the Islamic Republic constitute a blatant violation of Iran’s international legal obligations:

1. Violation of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) – Right to Life: Issuing and executing death sentences against protesters following unfair trials constitutes an “arbitrary deprivation of life” and an instrument of political repression.
2. Violation of Article 7 of the ICCPR – Prohibition of Torture: Coercing forced confessions under torture to issue death sentences and holding detainees in informal, secret facilities.
3. Violation of Article 9 of the ICCPR – Prohibition of Arbitrary Detention: Street stop-and-search, phone inspections, and the creation of detention centers outside official legal oversight.
4. Violation of Articles 14, 21, and 22 of the ICCPR: Complete denial of fair trial guarantees, denial of legal representation, and preventive suppression of the right to peaceful assembly.