Iran: Enough of Executions, Arbitrary Arrests & Hostage-Taking of Families!

A documented report on the acceleration of the execution machinery targeting protesters, the imposition of death sentences, political and security repression of minorities, and the systematic hostage-taking of families seeking justice.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has unleashed an unprecedented wave of expedited executions of protesters and death sentences against them, alongside a campaign of political and security repression targeting civil society activists, ethnic minorities, and families seeking justice. An examination of recent cases in Karaj, Zahedan, Mashhad, Bam, Shiraz, Astara, Baneh, Bukan, Miandoab, Rusk, and Mahshahr reveals that the ruling judicial and security apparatus has violated fundamental international human rights standards and transformed the justice system into an instrument for the unlawful and coercive exercise of state power, aimed at ensuring the Islamic Republic’s survival, instilling fear, and taking hostages.

The international community must not remain a bystander in the face of this wave of killings and gross human rights violations. This report documents the implementation of death sentences, the issuance of death sentences, widespread arrests, and pressure exerted on victims’ families, and calls upon the international community to take immediate and decisive action.

Section I: The Execution Machinery and Confessions Under Torture

1. Executions of Protesters and Mock Executions in Karaj

The Islamic Republic’s judiciary has carried out the death sentences of Reza Zanganeh (27), Hassan Divband, and Hamid Kazemi—all arrested during the protests of 18 and 19 Dey 1404 (January 8–9, 2026) in Karaj—following confirmation of their sentences by the Supreme Court. The confiscation of their property has also been initiated.

• Violation of fair trial guarantees and psychological torture: Security officials repeatedly took these prisoners to the gallows to extract forced confessions, then returned them to their cells after subjecting them to mock executions.
• Denial of legal rights: The defendants were denied access to lawyers of their own choosing. Their cases resulted in death sentences based on alleged charges such as “destruction of public property and electricity infrastructure” and “links with foreign intelligence services”, without the presentation of independent evidence. There were also attempts to produce forced televised confessions.
• Refutal of Charges: The family and relatives of Reza Zanganeh explicitly denied the foreign security charges levied against him.

2. Execution of a Baluch Political Prisoner Following 52 Days of Incommunicado Detention

• On the morning of Saturday, November 7, 2026, the execution of Mohammad Aref Shahbakhsh (approx. 25, from Qaleh Bid, Taftan) was carried out in Zahedan under charges of “Baghi” (taking up arms against the state) and “Moharebeh” (waging war against God).
• Arrest and Incommunicado Status: Arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence on August 29, 2024, after leaving Zahedan for Iranshahr, he was held in complete incommunicado detention for 52 days without family contact.
• Family History of Repression: His older brother, Hamed Shahbakhsh, was previously executed by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• Procedural Irregularities: The investigation was transferred from the Iran Shahr Prosecutor’s Office to Branch Six of the Investigative Court in Zahedan. However, no independent evidence supporting the charges, details of the judicial proceedings, or information confirming access to a lawyer of his own choosing has been made public. The official announcement of the execution also provided no clear details regarding the date of the trial, the examination of the charges, or the prisoner’s defense.

Section II: Escalation of Death Sentences in Mashhad (Vakilabad & Shandiz Cases)

• The regime’s judiciary has issued a broad wave of death sentences through the Revolutionary Courts of Mashhad against January 2026 protesters:

1-Branch 5 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad (Judge Hossein Yazdankhah):

• Abolfazl Sedaghat (20, born March 1, 2006), Vahid Khedrikhah (34), and Matin Farnian (23) were sentenced to death under charges of “Moharebeh.” Abolfazl Sedaghat was denied an independent attorney and assigned a public defender.

2-The Shandiz Case (Branch 5 of the Revolutionary Court, Presiding Judge Yazdankhah, Associate Judge Javad-Mousavi):

• Ali Zaghi and Iliya Akbari received primary death sentences for “Moharebeh” and “assembly and collusion against national security.” They are held in Vakilabad Prison alongside Mehdi Zarif (death sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court, referred to execution enforcement), Matin Shabani (primary death sentence), Hossein Rasouli-Nesab (death sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court, referred to execution enforcement), and Hassan Golshan-Nejad (primary death sentence).

3-Criminalizing Medical Care: The Case of Gholamreza Rahmati:

• Seyyed Gholamreza Rahmati (63, former political prisoner from 1986 to 1989) faces “Moharebeh” charges in Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad and is at imminent risk of a death sentence for providing shelter and medical care to injured protesters in his home. His wife was also detained for 45 days.

Section III: Widespread Detentions and Suppression of Cyber Activists

• As of November 5, 2026, at least 32 citizens have been detained across six counties:
• Shiraz (Fars Province): Deputy Police Commander Yousef Malekzadeh announced the arrest of a cyber activist accused of participating in the January 2026 protests and communicating with foreign media outlets.
• Bam (Kerman Province): Mass arrest of 25 citizens by the FATA Cyber Police on orders from Prosecutor Hamid Hassaninia under charges of “disturbing public opinion online.”
• Astara (Gilan Province): Arrest of a citizen by Intelligence and Police units ordered by Prosecutor Javad Hassanbeigi for allegedly sending urban surveillance footage to foreign media.

Section IV: Raids on Kurdish Regions and Mahshahr (Repression of Minorities)

1. New Wave of Detentions in Kurdistan:

• Baneh (Khwajamir Village): Intelligence agents raided and arrested Kaveh Osmani (56) and Osman Faraji (civil activist and former political prisoner serving a 9-year suspended sentence), transferring them to the Intelligence Detention Center in Sanandaj.
• Boukan: Saadi Karimi was arrested during a raid on his home in the Keshtargah district on November 3. On the same day, Karim Saeedi (55, married with children) was arrested in Amirabad, Boukan, and denied all access to family, phone calls, or legal counsel.
• Miandoab (Ebrahimabad Village): Milad Zand (19) was violently arrested by intelligence officers who assaulted his father (Kamil Zand) and family members during the raid. He remains in an unknown location without legal counsel.
• 2. Political Arrests and Raids in Mahshahr:
• On November 7, 2026, intelligence units from Ahvaz, accompanied by masked, black-clad personnel, raided homes in the Kui Saadi district of Bandar Mahshahr, arresting 7 Arab citizens and confiscating personal property.
• Names of Detainees in Mahshahr: Adel Osmani, Soltan Osmani, Aziz Garghouli, Ali Heidari, Mohsen Salihawi, Ali Salihawi, and Tehran Osmani.

Section V: Systemic Hostage-Taking of Seeking-Justice Families

The Islamic Republic targets families as victims of repression in their own right by violating their fundamental rights, systematically depriving them of basic entitlements, and turning these deprivations into instruments of pressure, intimidation, and hostage-taking.

• Abdolrahman Dostaran (Rask/Zahedan): The 30-year-old brother of executed prisoner Omar Dostaran. Possessing no political affiliation, he was arrested on October 12, 2026, when attempting to collect his brother’s body. He has been held incommunicado in Zahedan for 29 days as security bodies use him as a hostage to coerce intelligence cooperation.

• Ali Alipour: Father of executed political prisoner Babak Alipour; he was arrested and transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht while his other son, Rouzbeh Alipour, remains detained.
• Amir Shahidinezhad: Father of Mershad Shahidinezhad (killed during the 2022 protests); he was sentenced to 2.5 years of suspended imprisonment and a monetary fine after protesting the handling of his son’s murder investigation.
• Saeed Abdi: Brother of Shokouh Abdi (shot dead in January 2026 protests in Arak); he has been detained for months.
• Masoud Najafi: Father of Mohammadreza Najafi (27, killed in Shazand); he has been held in detention since the summer of 2026.
• Roya Eidinejad: The 26-year-old sister of Zohreh Eidinejad (28, killed in January 2026 protests in Mashhad); she has been held in detention in limbo by IRGC Intelligence in Quchan since September 25.

Summary Table of Documented Human Rights Violations