A 26-year-old protester is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday by the Islamic Republic after authorities reportedly neglected to offer the demonstrator any opportunity to defend himself in a court of law.
Erfaneh Soltani, who is scheduled to be executed, was denied any legal process or a defense lawyer, according to the US State Department.
While 2,000 people at least have been killed in the unrest in recent weeks, an Iranian official told Reuters, Soltani is the first to be sentenced to execution. NGO groups Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and National Union for Democracy in Iran reported that he will be executed by hanging.
“This time, the Islamic Republic regime didn’t even bother with its usual 10-minute sham trial,” the US State Department said. Iran has frequently been accused of using torture and threats to extort confessions under duress.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights published that Soltani was arrested at his private home on Thursday, January 8, after he appeared at a protest in Karaj.
Soltani’s family was allegedly only informed days after the death sentence was issued, and they will only have a short 10-minute opportunity to meet with him before his execution.
His relatives have been denied access to any information regarding the charges, case file, or judicial proceedings, the human rights organization said. The US Sun reported that he was sentenced for the crime of “waging war against God.”
IHRNGO director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement that “the widespread killing of civilian protesters in recent days by the Islamic Republic is reminiscent of the regime’s crimes in the 1980s, which have been recognized as crimes against humanity.”
“The risk of mass and extrajudicial executions of protesters is extremely serious,” the statement added. “Under the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), the international community has a duty to protect civilian protesters against mass killings by the Islamic Republic and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. We call on people and civil society in democratic countries to remind their governments of this responsibility,” Amiry-Moghaddam wrote.
A source told IranWire that the former retail worker “had received threatening messages from security sources before his arrest, but he continued to emphasize his struggle and activity and participated in protests. He had informed his family that he was under surveillance and that despite the threats, he had not wavered from his position.”
The unrest, sparked by dire economic conditions, has posed the most significant internal challenge to Iran’s clerical rulers in at least three years. Iran’s authorities have tried to take a dual approach to the demonstrations, calling protests over economic problems legitimate while enforcing a harsh crackdown.
“The government sees security forces and protesters as its children. To the best of our abilities, we have tried and will try to listen to their voices even if some have tried to hijack such protests,” government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Tuesday.
Mai Sato, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, was reached for comment.
Iran’s use of executions in 2025
Iran executed 1,922 people in 2025, the highest number in over a decade, the Iranian human rights group Human Rights Activists announced in its annual statistical report for 2025. The report noted that “95% of executions were carried out in secret or without public announcement.”
Last week, amid the widespread demonstrations, the Iranian judiciary media outlet Mizan reported that Ali Ardestani was executed following accusations that he spied for Israel.
Executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel have significantly increased over the past year, following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.
In recent years, the IRGC has detained dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on espionage and security-related charges.
Rights groups and some Western countries have accused the Islamic Republic of using such arrests to gain leverage in negotiations. Tehran denies arresting people for political reasons.
Tzvi Jasper, Sam Halpern, and Reuters contributed to this report.