Iran: 60 more lives at risk as execution spree against protesters escalates

The public execution of two protesters today, following the arbitrary execution of at least three other protesters last week, marks a further escalation in the authorities’ use of the death penalty to crush dissent, Amnesty International said.

Amnesty fears that at least 60 others, including three arrested as children, remain at risk of execution after being sentenced to death, while many others are facing prosecution on capital charges in relation to the protests.

In the first half of 2026, Iranian authorities have increasingly used broadly worded national security charges, including espionage and collaboration with hostile states, to convict and sentence to death individuals arrested in the context of the January 2026 protests. Since the beginning of the year, they have arbitrarily executed at least 26 people convicted of offences in connection with the protests, following torture-tainted grossly unfair trials by Revolutionary Courts. Beyond those targeted in the context of the protests, the authorities have arbitrarily executed at least 26 other individuals on politically motivated charges, while continuing to carry out hundreds of executions for drug-related offences and other crimes.

Amnesty spoke with 10 informed sources, including victims’ families outside Iran and lawyers inside Iran. Amnesty also reviewed official statements from the Iranian authorities, as well as reports from state media and reports by human rights organisations based outside Iran.

In the cases documented, those arbitrarily executed or sentenced to death were convicted of overly broad and vague charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz). Among them are individuals executed for alleged involvement in arson, property damage, road blockages or disrupting public order - acts that do not meet the threshold under international law and standards for the application of the death penalty, which restricts its use to the “most serious crimes” involving intentional killing.

Some others have been prosecuted under the Law on Intensifying the Punishment for Espionage and Collaboration with the Zionist Regime and Hostile States (Espionage Law), which was enacted in the aftermath of the 12-day war in June 2025. The law criminalises acts protected under international human rights law such as peaceful participation in protests and sharing information with media organisations.

Given that thousands were arrested in the context of the January 2026 protests and relatives often refrain from publicly reporting death sentences fearing reprisals, Amnesty believes that many more protesters may be at risk of the death penalty.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

“The Iranian authorities are unleashing a horrifying wave of executions and death sentences to punish and suppress dissent and project an image of strength and absolute control in the wake of the January popular uprising and amid ongoing attacks by US and Israeli forces.

“The muted response from the international community emboldens the Iranian authorities to continue their deadly rampage. UN member states must take urgent coordinated diplomatic action to press the Iranian authorities to halt further executions. They must place Iran’s human rights and impunity crisis high on their agenda, support the creation of an independent international justice mechanism for Iran and urge the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Iran to the International Criminal Court.”

Arbitrary executions linked to January 2026 protests

Since the unlawful attacks by Israel and the USA on Iran on 28 February, the Iranian authorities have intensified their use of the death penalty against individuals arrested in the context of the January 2026 uprising.

On 28 July, the authorities arbitrarily executed Amir Hossein Safari and Abolfazl Sepahi in public. They were arrested during protests in Esfahan on 8 January and sentenced to death following a grossly unfair mass trial involving dozens of defendants. The mass trial concerned the killing of four police agents during the protests in Alikhani square in Esfahan as well as allegations that the defendants possessed weapons, damaged public property and set fire to buildings. This followed the arbitrary execution of two other protesters from the same case - Erfan Esfandiari and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi - on 19 July. Mizan News Agency reported that “confessions” they made in detention were used to convict them.

Eight other individuals sentenced to death in the same case are at imminent risk of execution. They are Ali Dashti, Alireza Raisi, Abolfazl Ebrahimi, Alireza Sepahi, Amirhossein Ebrahimi, Amirhossein Maleki, Ghaem Hosseini, and Shervin Bagherian. An informed source told Amnesty that one of the young men – Shervin Bagherian – was subjected to enforced disappearance for 21 days and to torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings. His forced “confession” was broadcast in a propaganda video on 25 January, prior to trial, and he was denied the right to access a lawyer throughout the investigation phase.

Mehdi Khaneki, Mohammad Amini Dehaghani, Javad Zamani, Abolfazl Saedi, Ashkan Maleki and Mehrdad Mohammadinia are among those arbitrarily executed following convictions for offences not involving “intentional killing”, in violation of international law and standards.

The judiciary’s Mizan News Agency announced the execution of Mehdi Khaneki in Karaj, Alborz province, on 22 July. It reported that he had been sentenced to death under the Espionage Law after being convicted based on “confessions” he made in detention. Authorities had accused him of links with a banned opposition group, possession of weapons and explosives, and “operational actions” on behalf of Israel, the USA and “hostile groups”.

On 15 July, authorities arbitrarily executed Mohammad Amini Dehaghani after a Revolutionary Court in Esfahan province convicted him of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) in connection with protests in Esfahan city on 9 January. According to Mizan News Agency, he was also convicted based on “confessions” he made in detention. It stated that the death sentences were based on multiple acts including “disturbing public opinion”, “seeking to establish contact with online accounts affiliated with counterrevolutionary groups”, blocking roads and damage to public property.

On 16 June, authorities arbitrarily executed Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saedi after convictions for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) through “disturbing public order”, “gathering and colluding against national security”, and arson in relation to protests in Shahroud, Semnan province. The judiciary broadcast their forced “confessions” on the day of their executions.

Ashkan Maleki and Mehrdad Mohammadinia, from Iran’s oppressed Kurdish minority, were arbitrarily executed in secret on 1 June in Alborz province, without advance notice to their families or lawyers. Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced them to death for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) for setting fire to a mosque and seminary in Tehran. According to Mizan News Agency, they were convicted and sentenced to death under the Espionage Law, and “confessions” they made in detention, which were broadcast on state television prior to their trial in violation of the right to presumption of innocence, were used to convict them. Their co-defendant, Arman Marefati, is at imminent risk of execution in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Alborz province.

The judiciary and state media have repeatedly described executed protesters as “enemy foot soldiers”, “the Mossad-affiliated sword-wielding killers”, and “enemy operatives under the guise of protesters”.

Surge in arbitrary death sentences linked to January 2026 protests

Since internet access was restored in Iran on 26 May, following a nationwide shutdown lasting three months, Amnesty has recorded an escalation in the use of the death penalty in relation to the January protests. Reports have since emerged of at least 15 death sentences issued by Revolutionary Courts and 13 death sentences upheld by the Supreme Court across the provinces of Alborz, Esfahan, Fars, Hamedan, Qazvin, Markazi, Semnan, Tehran, and Yazd.

Amnesty believes the real number of death sentences linked to January protests is much higher. According to Iran Human Rights, a human rights organisation based outside Iran, in one prison in Esfahan province alone, more than 70 people arrested in connection with the January protests have been sentenced to death.

The rise in the use of the death penalty has come amid a proliferation of official statements and state media reports systematically portraying the protests as an “American-Zionist terrorist conspiracy” or a “coup”. Senior judicial and other officials also continue to publicly vow to fast-track prosecutions and threaten the imposition of harsh punishments against protesters.

Amnesty has documented protesters being sentenced to death in grossly unfair and closed proceedings characterized by enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, denial of access to a lawyer during the investigation stage, denial of the right to a lawyer of their own choosing at trial, and the use of forced “confessions”, in violation of the right to presumption of innocence, the right to be protected from torture and other ill-treatment, the right not to be compelled to self-incriminate and the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of life. The Supreme Court has also rubber-stamped death sentences without meaningful review, denying defendants their right to a fair and effective appeal.

The authorities have further created a climate of fear by increasingly using the Espionage Law. The law criminalises peaceful activities protected under international human rights law, such as sharing information about protests and human rights violations with foreign media where the authorities deem such conduct contrary to national security and imposes the death penalty for conduct characterized as “intelligence activity” or espionage on behalf of Israel, the USA or another designated “hostile” state or group.

In a further escalation, a list published by the Ministry of Intelligence on 14 July designates over 400 individuals and entities, including human rights organisations and independent media outlets based outside Iran, as “hostile” under the Espionage Law. Those inside Iran who communicate with listed individuals or entities risk prosecution and could face the death penalty where the authorities characterise such conduct as “intelligence activity” or espionage.

Those at risk of execution include martial arts athlete, Benyamin Naghdi, who was arrested during protests in Shiraz, Fars province, on 3 January and accused of propelling a fire extinguisher at security forces. He was subjected to enforced disappearance for over 50 days and his forced “confession” was broadcast on state television the day after arrest and prior to trial. According to information gathered by Amnesty, Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz sentenced him to death for “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz) in May following a grossly unfair trial, but he was only informed of his sentence in July.

Peyman Ganji is also at risk of execution. Security forces arrested him in Tehran in early February 2026. Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced him to death in May 2026, and he was formally notified of this verdict on 26 July 2026. He was convicted of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) in relation to his alleged involvement in setting fire to a mosque and making Molotov cocktails, allegations he has consistently denied. According to an informed source, he “confessed” under torture and other ill-treatment and retracted his “confessions” at trial.

Neither Benyamin Naghdi nor Peyman Gaji face accusations of involvement in the deaths of security forces.

At least three individuals – Erfan Amiri, Mansour Jafari and Matin Mohammadi – who were children at the time of the alleged offences are also at risk of execution. International human rights law strictly prohibits the imposition of the death penalty on those aged under 18 at the time of the alleged crime.

Iranian authorities must immediately halt all planned executions and establish an official moratorium on all executions with view to full abolition the death penalty.

Context: a year of escalating repression

The Iranian authorities responded to nationwide protests that erupted on 28 December 2025 with an unprecedented, militarised crackdown. They unlawfully used firearms and other means of lethal force on a massive scale, killing thousands of protesters and bystanders on 8 and 9 January 2026 and arresting tens of thousands. Following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on 28 February 2026, the state intensified domestic repression under the pretext of “wartime conditions”, executing at least 52 people, including protesters and dissidents, on politically motivated charges.

Amnesty opposes the death penalty unconditionally, in all cases and under any circumstances. It violates the right to life and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.