برای خواندن این مطلب به فارسی اینجا را کلیک کنید
In the early hours of Monday, May 14, 2026, Iranian authorities carried out the executions of Mahdi Rasouli, Mohammad Reza Miri, and Ibrahim Dolat-Abadi, three men arrested during the widespread protests that swept through Mashhad on January 8 and 9, 2025. Iran’s judiciary described the men as “direct agents of Mossad” and “ringleaders of unrest,” while state media referred to protesters as “thugs” and portrayed the demonstrations as an attempted “coup.”
Prior to these executions, Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a young Kurdish man from Urmia who had been arrested at the age of 25 during the 2022 protest movement, was executed on May 3 after being convicted of “corruption on earth” in connection with the alleged killing of a Basij paramilitary member. In a letter written from prison and circulated shortly before the recent conflict began, Abdollahzadeh insisted on his innocence and stated that the confessions attributed to him had been extracted through torture and coercion. He wrote that none of the accusations against him were true. His family repeatedly called for a retrial, arguing that the forensic report documented the presence of shotgun pellets — ammunition commonly used by Iranian security forces — in the victim’s body, a detail they said had never been properly investigated. Reports also indicated that even the family of the deceased expressed doubts about Abdollahzadeh’s guilt, although they did not formally withdraw their complaint. Despite these unresolved concerns, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction, and the execution proceeded without further review.
These cases form part of a much broader and rapidly intensifying pattern of executions of sensitive cases in the ceasefire period. Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’i, has repeatedly instructed prosecutors and judicial authorities to accelerate legal proceedings and swiftly enforce sentences against individuals detained in connection with both the January 2026 protests and the subsequent conflict period. Since the outbreak of hostilities, at least 21 executions have been officially announced by Iranian authorities. Human rights monitors, however, warn that the real number could be significantly higher due to severe internet restrictions and the lack of independent access inside Iran.
The charges most frequently used in these cases – including “enmity against God,” “corruption on earth,” alleged collaboration with Israel, and affiliation with opposition organizations – are extremely broad and have often been applied in ways that many legal experts and international observers regard as inconsistent with internationally recognized standards governing the use of capital punishment.
The wider crackdown that followed the January 2026 protests has been extensive. Thousands of people were detained in the aftermath of the demonstrations. According to the Norway-based organization Iran Human Rights, at least 1,500 executions were carried out in Iran during the previous year alone, making Iran the second-highest executor in the world after China. At least 12 of those executions were directly tied to cases connected to the 2022–2023 protest movement.
The latest execution wave has proceeded despite deep concerns and warnings regarding the fairness and integrity of the judicial process. Multiple individuals executed in recent weeks had publicly disputed the evidence against them through prison letters, family statements and legal appeals, while also alleging that their confessions had not been given voluntarily. In several cases, significant forensic and evidentiary questions raised by defense lawyers and family members do not appear to have been fully addressed prior to the implementation of death sentences. The rapid pace at which these proceedings have been concluded – under explicit direction from the judiciary’s leadership – has further narrowed the possibility of meaningful judicial review.
In accordance with international commitments to which Iran is signatory, the Islamic Republic of Iran should immediately suspend all executions linked to protest activity, release individuals detained without sufficient legal basis, allow independent review of convictions that rely heavily on disputed confessions, and ensure that judicial proceedings comply with basic legal standards.
Among those reportedly still at risk of execution are Pakhshan Azizi, Hatam Ozdemir, Yousef Ahmadi, Naser Bakrzadeh, Raouf Sheikh-Marofi, and Mohammad Faraji, individuals whose cases have been identified by human rights organizations as requiring urgent international attention. Their lives remain at immediate risk, and decisions made in the coming days and weeks could carry irreversible consequences.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) strongly condemns the ongoing wave of executions carried out by Iranian authorities against individuals detained in connection with protest activity amid deep international concern regarding due process, torture and evidentiary standards. NIAC views these executions – conducted under conditions of restricted public information, reliance on contested confessions, and accelerated judicial procedures – as fundamentally incompatible with Iran’s obligations under international human rights law and with the basic principles of a fair and transparent legal system.
NIAC calls directly on the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt all pending executions connected to protest movements, release all individuals held on politically-motivated charges, and guarantee access to independent legal counsel, due process, and fair trials for all detainees. Iran’s citizens possess the right to peaceful expression, the right to a fair trial, and the right to life. Respecting these rights is not a concession to outside pressure, it is a fundamental obligation owed by any government to the people under its authority. NIAC therefore urges Iranian authorities to take immediate and concrete steps toward accountability, restraint, and the protection of human rights within Iran’s borders.