Iran carried out public executions of two anti-regime protesters, Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amir Hossein Safari Hosseinabadi, on Tuesday in Isfahan’s Shahid Alikhani Square, the same location where they had participated in protests demanding change.
Video footage showed a crowd shouting "Dishonorable, dishonorable!" at security forces during the hangings, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
Badjani and Hosseinabadi were among 12 individuals accused of killing four security guards during protests in January. Tehran has now executed four of these 12 accused. The United Nations Human Rights Office has expressed concern that the eight remaining individuals convicted in the case are at immediate risk of execution. These young men are reportedly between their late teens and early twenties.
The UN office stated that the accused were allegedly deprived of their liberty, subjected to enforced disappearances, mistreated, and accused of involvement in the killing of security force members, as well as arson and vandalism during the January 8, 2026, protests.
Human rights groups report that the 12 men were denied the right to choose their own lawyers, and even court-appointed legal counsel was reportedly denied access to case files. Similar to other protesters convicted in Iran, Badjani and Hosseinabadi were shown making confessions on state-broadcasted court proceedings, which are often alleged to be made under duress to intimidate dissidents.
The eight remaining individuals in the Alikhani Square case have been identified as Alireza Sepahi, 24; Ghaem Hosseini, 20; Shervin Bagherian, 18; Amirhossein Ebrahimi Analucheh, 19; Amirhossein Maleki, 19; Ali Dashti, 19; Abolfazl Ebrahimi, 18; and Alireza Raeisi, 21.
These executions bring the total number of protesters from the January demonstrations to be executed by hanging to 26. Hundreds of demonstrators are reportedly on death row. The hangings occurred as a hunger strike demanding an end to the surge in executions entered its 16th day at Ghezel Hesar jail. According to the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights NGO, Iran has executed 424 people so far this year.