Iran Has Executed Three Young Men Over Their Involvement In The January Anti-Government Protests
Iran Human Rights said the three "had been sentenced to death following grossly unfair trials, based on confessions obtained under torture and coercion."
Iran has executed three young men over their involvement in the anti-government protests in January.
The three men, Mehdi Ghasemi, Saeed Davoudi and 19-year-old international wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi, were convicted of killing police officers and allegedly acting on behalf of the US and Israel during the protests.
The nationwide anti-government protests had erupted in mid-December 2025, after the Iranian rial reached a record low at 1.42 million to US$1, with inflation exceeding 42% in December alone.
As protests grew across the country, Iranian authorities shut down the internet and violently cracked down on protesters, arresting and killing thousands of people.
The government has arrested more than 50,000 people in just over six weeks and killed thousands of others, according to rights groups.
Authorities claimed 3,117 people were killed during the protests, but the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had verified 6,872 deaths and was investigating more than 11,000 other cases, including children under the age of 18.
On March 19, Iranian authorities executed Ghasemi, Davoudi and Mohammadi in the city of Qom in the first officially announced executions linked to the protests.
The men were found guilty of murder, “Moharebeh” — meaning “waging war against God” — and carrying out operations "in favor of the Zionist regime and the US” during the protests in January, including the killing of two police officers, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said, according to Al Jazeera.
Iran Human Rights said the three "had been sentenced to death following grossly unfair trials, based on confessions obtained under torture and coercion," adding that no other evidence of their guilt was presented beyond the confessions.
Mohammadi retracted his confessions in court, saying they were extracted under torture, but the court dismissed the claims without an investigation, according to Amnesty International.
Dozens of other protesters arrested in January have also been handed death sentences by the regime and remain at risk of similar executions as the crackdown intensifies.
Iran has consistently ranked as the world's second-largest executioner after China; last year, it hanged at least 1,500 people.
Flavie Chen
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
