Iran’s judiciary has carried out a new wave of executions of individuals detained during the nationwide protests of January 2026, further intensifying alarm over the systematic use of capital punishment in politically sensitive cases. The execution of Ali Fahim, whose death marks the eleventh known execution linked to the January protests, underscores a rapidly escalating pattern of repression.
According to official statements, Fahim was charged with “participation in operational actions against national security,” including entering a classified military site with the alleged intent to seize weapons, as well as involvement in the destruction and arson of government property. Authorities claim that his sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. His case is directly tied to the alleged attack on the “Shahid Mahmoud Kaveh” Basij base in Tehran on January 8, 2026.
Fahim was tried alongside several co-defendants, including Amirhossein Hatami, Mohammadamin Biglari, and Shahin Vahedparast, all of whom have been executed in recent days on similar charges. These executions follow a pattern of coordinated sentencing stemming from a single case adjudicated by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court under Judge Abolqasem Salavati, a figure widely criticized for presiding over politically-motivated trials lacking due process guarantees.
Despite official claims, serious doubts persist regarding the validity of the charges. Sources close to the defendants, as well as available reports and video evidence, suggest that the accused individuals did not initiate acts of arson or destruction, but rather entered a building that had already been set on fire. Even state-affiliated reporting acknowledges that Fahim’s actions were limited to removing motorcycles from the site, while others allegedly set them ablaze. These discrepancies raise significant concerns about the reliability of evidence and the possibility of coerced confessions.
The broader case involves at least five defendants, of whom four—Hatami, Biglari, Vahedparast, and Fahim—have now been executed. The remaining defendant, Abolfazl Salehi Siawashani, has reportedly been transferred for enforcement of his sentence, raising fears of imminent execution. Earlier reports also indicated that several co-defendants had been removed from the general ward of Ghezel Hesar Prison and transferred to undisclosed locations, a pattern frequently associated with impending executions.
This surge in protest-linked executions is occurring months after the January 2026 protests, which were unprecedented in both scale and the intensity of the state’s response. Reports indicate that security forces used extensive lethal force, resulting in thousands of deaths nationwide, although exact figures remain difficult to verify due to widespread restrictions on information. While Iran’s government acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported over 7,000 killed.
Since the onset of these protests – and particularly following the outbreak of conflict involving the United States and Israel – Iranian authorities have sharply increased the pace of executions, targeting not only protest-related detainees but also individuals accused of political or security-related offenses. Human rights organizations warn that judicial proceedings in these cases consistently fail to meet international fair trial standards, citing lack of transparency, restricted access to legal representation and reliance on confessions obtained under torture and duress.
Iran’s judiciary has explicitly framed these executions within a broader national security narrative. State media has suggested that the alleged actions of the defendants created conditions that could justify foreign military intervention. Meanwhile, the head of the judiciary has repeatedly warned that individuals labeled as “traitors to the nation” will face execution, emphasizing that there will be no leniency or compromise in such cases.
International human rights experts have expressed grave concern. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran has warned that the death penalty is increasingly being used as a tool to suppress dissent, particularly under wartime conditions. Ongoing internet disruptions and restrictions on independent reporting further risk obscuring the scale of executions and the number of individuals currently at risk.
The cumulative effect of these developments points to a systematic campaign of intimidation and repression, in which capital punishment is deployed to deter further protest and silence opposition. The speed of judicial proceedings, the grouping of defendants in mass trials, and the mounting number of executions all raise serious concerns about violations of fundamental human rights.
NIAC strongly condemns the execution of protest-related detainees amid due process concerns, including Ali Fahim and his co-defendants, and warns that the continued use of the death penalty in these cases deepens international concerns regarding the violation of international human rights obligations. NIAC calls on the Iranian government to immediately halt all executions, particularly those involving political prisoners and protest detainees, to commute existing death sentences, and to ensure that all individuals are afforded fair and transparent trials. The continuation of this trajectory risks further entrenching repression, deepening societal trauma, and undermining any prospects for accountability and justice in Iran.