By Kayhan Life Staff
The Islamic Republic is stepping up death sentences against citizens arrested during the January protests in Iran, which were brutally cracked down and resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) has reported that death sentences have been issued against 70 detainees held at Dastgerd Prison, also known as Isfahan Central Prison, in Isfahan alone. Several other detainees imprisoned there are facing serious charges, including moharebeh (enmity against God), and may also receive death sentences.
And based on cases documented over the past six months, approximately 20 detainees arrested during the January protests have reportedly been executed.
The latest detainee to receive a death sentence in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan is Mehnam Navab-Safavi. According to human rights sources, he was sentenced to death on a charge of moharebeh by Branch 5 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Hemmatinejad.
The charges against him include “moharebeh through participation in the destruction of public property,” “propaganda against the regime,” “assembly and collusion against national security,” and “encouraging people to kill one another.”
Meanwhile, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that the death sentences against Ahad Shokouhian — among those arrested during the nationwide protests, which took place from Dec. 22, 2025, to Jan. 20, 2026 — have been upheld by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
According to the report, Shokouhian had previously been sentenced to death on three separate counts by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari.
He was convicted on charges including “acting against national security,” “assembly and collusion against national security,” “destruction of public property,” and “participation in the killing of two security personnel.”
His participation in protest gatherings in Pakdasht, Tehran Province, on Jan. 8, 2026, along with allegations that he set fire to a mosque, was cited among the accusations against him.
An informed source close to Shokouhian’s family told HRANA: “Ahad Shokouhian was not present at the location when the fire broke out at the mosque and was arrested solely because of his physical resemblance to another person who was identified as the perpetrator of the arson.”
“Nevertheless, his sentence was issued and upheld without a thorough examination of the CCTV footage. The investigator and judge in the case also refused to approve a further review of the footage.”
According to the source, a significant portion of the case file was based on confessions attributed to Shokouhian, although the method and circumstances under which they were obtained remain unclear.
The source further emphasized that Shokouhian suffers from severe asthma, a condition that has also been confirmed by the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization (ILMO).
Because of his physical condition, the source said, he would have been incapable of carrying out strenuous activities, including helping to break down the mosque’s door.
Shokouhian was arrested on Jan. 15 during the nationwide protests in Pakdasht and transferred to Khorin Varamin Prison, also known as the Varamin Correctional Facility. He was ultimately transferred to Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, 48 kilometers northwest of Tehran, in mid-June of this year.
He is 38 years old, works at Tehran’s flower market, is the sole breadwinner of his family, and lives in Pakdasht County.
On July 23, the United Nations fact-finding mission on Iran called for the immediate suspension of executions related to the protests, the unconditional release of detainees, and the prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations.
In its statement, the mission said that, “based on credible information,” the families of at least two other defendants in the case known as the “Alikhani Square” case in Isfahan had been summoned for a final visit with them.
The UN fact-finding mission also expressed grave concern that the authorities of the Islamic Republic had accelerated the implementation of death sentences against protesters arrested during the January protests.
The mission had previously noted in another statement that the number and pace of executions in Iran increase during periods of social and political unrest.
The “Alikhani Square” case is only one of several cases related to the January protests. It concerns demonstrations held on the evening of Jan. 8 around Alikhani Square, between the Malekshahr and Kaveh districts of Isfahan.
The security forces of the Islamic Republic claimed that four members of the Basij volunteer militia and special forces — Hossein Ramezani, Mohammad Hemmati, Seyyed Ali Khoshouei, and Valiollah Safari — were killed in the area during the protests on Jan. 8.
In the “Alikhani Square” case, Alireza Sepahi, born in 2001, has been sentenced to four death sentences; Abolfazl Sepahi, born in 2003, to three death sentences; and Alireza Raisi, born in 2004, Ghaem Hosseini, born in 2005, and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi, born in 2002, an Afghan citizen, have each been sentenced to two death sentences.
In addition, Amirhossein Safari, born in 1998; Amirhossein Maleki, born in 2006; Ali Dashti, born in 2006; Amirhossein Ebrahimian Analoujeh, born in 2006; Shervin Bagherian, born in 2007; Erfan Esfandiari, born in 2007; and Abolfazl Ebrahimi, born in 2007, have each been sentenced to one death sentence.
The case has 59 defendants, and sentencing is still ongoing. Some defendants have been sentenced to between five and ten years in prison, while several others remain at risk of receiving death sentences.
