Following our previous report on the surge in executions since the outbreak of war, the Islamic Republic executed two additional detainees who had been arrested in connection with the January protests within days of each other. Both executions were carried out in Isfahan. The pattern of rushed trials, legally questionable charges, and denial of due process documented in earlier cases continued in both instances.
Erfan Kiani was executed on the morning of Saturday, April 25, 2026. He had been arrested in Isfahan in connection with the Dey Month protests. The judiciary charged him with destruction of public and private property, spreading terror in the city, carrying a cold weapon, and attacking security forces. His death sentence was issued and subsequently confirmed by the Supreme Court before being carried out. Human rights organizations have raised serious concern over the speed of proceedings and the absence of meaningful due process protections in his case.
Sasan Azadvār Jonaqāni, 21 years old, was executed in the early hours of Thursday, April 30, 2026. He had also been detained in Isfahan during the Dey Month protests. Authorities alleged he attacked a security forces minibus with stones and a club, and charged him with moharebeh – enmity against God – on the grounds of intent to overthrow the government. His sentence was issued by the First Branch of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court. Legal experts at the Dadban judicial monitoring organization noted publicly that the charge of moharebeh requires by law the use of a weapon – a threshold the alleged conduct did not meet – rendering the conviction legally inconsistent with the statutory definition of the offense.
From NIAC’s perspective, these executions represent a continuation of the deeply alarming trend in the Islamic Republic’s surge in executions in protest-connected cases amid deep concerns on transparency, torture and due process. The targeting of young protest detainees through charges such as moharebeh, historically reserved for armed insurgency, appears to reflect a deliberate strategy to show no mercy to those accused of wrongdoing amid the protest movement. Yet everyone must be afforded a fair trial under Iran’s international rights obligations, including in trials where the outcome can lead to death.
NIAC condemns these executions amid concerns regarding due process and calls on the Iranian government and its judiciary to immediately halt all executions connected to protest activity and guarantee the right to a fair trial and independent legal representation for all remaining detainees, as well as ensure that charges brought against individuals reflect the actual legal standards enshrined in Iran’s own laws, as the Azadvār case itself demonstrates have not been met. Wartime conditions cannot serve as justification for the suspension of due process or the accelerated application of the death penalty against citizens exercising their fundamental rights.