Iran Executes Two More Detainees from January Protests, Bringing Total to Four
Iran executed Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amir Hossein Safari Hosseinabadi, both detained during the January 2025 protests, bringing to four the number of defendants executed in the so-called Isfahan Alikhani Square case.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
Iran's judiciary executed two more detainees from the Dey (January) protests just ten days after putting two others to death in the same case. All four were accused of killing police officers in Isfahan. Rights monitors warn executions in Iran have hit unprecedented levels.
Two men in Iran who were arrested for joining big street protests about the economy were put to death by the government. The government says they killed some police officers, but human rights groups worry the trials weren't fair. This is part of a worrying pattern in Iran, where the government is putting more and more people to death, especially people who spoke out against the country's leaders.
Analysis
The Isfahan Alikhani Square Case
This execution marks the culmination of the high-profile Isfahan Alikhani Square case, in which four detainees from Iran's January (Dey) protests have now been put to death. Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amir Hossein Safari Hosseinabadi were executed on Wednesday, according to IRNA, the state news agency. The BBC Persian report notes that the judiciary had announced the executions of Erfan Esfandiari and Golmohammad Mohammadi, also defendants in the same case, just ten days earlier. IRNA cited the official justification for all four as "participation in killing four security forces of the police in Shahid Alikhani Square in Malek-Shahr, Isfahan." In the hours before the latest executions, the BBC reports, witnesses said authorities erected scaffolding at the square, and families of detainees were contacted for what were framed as "final visits."
An Acceleration of Death Sentences
The pair of executions fits a broader pattern that international human rights monitors have flagged with alarm. The UN Human Rights Council's special rapporteur has noted that executions in Iran have risen to an unprecedented level over the past year, with the death penalty being deployed as an instrument of repression. Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, the head of Iran's judiciary, has publicly directed prosecutors to handle cases involving those arrested after the start of the war or during the Dey protests "without leniency and with speed." Beyond the Dey-protest defendants, the BBC reports that dozens of others have been executed on charges including "espionage" and "collaboration with the US and Israel." Human rights organizations have raised concerns about due process in these cases, particularly regarding access to legal counsel.
The Broader Context of Repression
The January protests began with demonstrations over inflation and the sudden collapse of the rial's value, then expanded into a nationwide movement that was met with lethal force on 18-19 Dey. Official Iranian figures place the death toll at more than 3,000, though human rights organizations say the actual number is significantly higher. More than 100 members of the police, security, and suppressive forces were also killed during those two days, triggering mass arrests and trials that have produced multiple death sentences in the months since. The BBC notes that the pace of executions has quickened since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, blurring the line between politically motivated prosecutions and the broader wartime crackdown. The combined effect is a justice system that critics increasingly describe as a tool of state survival rather than a check on government power.
Key points
- Iran executed Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amir Hossein Safari Hosseinabadi, both detained during the January 2025 (Dey) protests
- All four defendants in the Isfahan Alikhani Square case have now been executed, with two carried out just ten days earlier
- Iran's official justification accuses the four of participating in the killing of four police officers in Isfahan
- The UN human rights rapporteur says executions in Iran have risen to unprecedented levels over the past year and are being used as a tool of repression
- Human rights groups raise concerns about due process and access to legal counsel in the cases, while the head of the judiciary has urged prosecutors to act 'without leniency and with speed'
The BBC reports that the pace of executions has quickened since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, with the judiciary executing dozens on charges including 'espionage' and 'collaboration with the US and Israel.' With Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei publicly directing prosecutors to handle such cases 'without leniency and with speed,' further death sentences appear likely. Human rights monitors warn that due process concerns, including limited access to legal counsel, are likely to persist or worsen.
