Iran carried out the execution of 20-year-old Arvin Kheirkhah on Saturday morning at Shahroud prison for allegedly waging war "against God" during nationwide anti-regime street demonstrations in January. The execution, reported by UK-based Iran International, has intensified concerns that more protesters may face the death penalty.
Kheirkhah was arrested during a forceful crackdown on the January protests and subsequently sentenced by a Revolutionary Court. International watchdogs have previously criticized these courts for their reliance on vague charges like "enmity against God" and "corruption on earth."
In a final conversation with his family, Kheirkhah reportedly said, "Don’t let them forget me. We stood up for the liberation of our homeland. Don’t let the path we chose be silenced." The communications office of Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah, identified six other Iranian citizens who are allegedly at risk of execution.
Reports indicate that Iran has executed a significant number of individuals during anti-regime protests. While President Trump has stated that Iran has killed as many as 32,000 people during such demonstrations preceding U.S. and Israeli attacks, human rights groups estimate at least 7,000 have been killed by Iranian government forces. On July 23, UN investigators called on Iran to halt planned executions for 10 men arrested in connection with protests in Isfahan, following the July 19 hangings of Erfan Esfandiari, 18, and an Afghan national, Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, 23. The UN stated that all 12 men were arrested in connection with protests on January 8, which led to the deaths of four security force members. The UN Fact-Finding Mission has strongly condemned these executions.
Amnesty International previously stated that Iranian authorities were using a "horrifying wave of executions and death sentences to punish and suppress dissent and project an image of strength and absolute control." The U.S. administration has cited such executions in the period leading up to and following military strikes on Iran, which were initiated after repeated Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and U.S. bases in the region.