21.02.2026 16:12
Amnesty International announced that at least 30 people are being tried with a request for the death penalty in the cases opened after the January 2026 protests. The organization stated that at least eight people, including young individuals aged 18 and 19, were quickly found guilty and sentenced to death. It was also noted that at least 22 people, including two children aged 17, are at risk of the death penalty under the shadow of confessions obtained under torture and violations of the right to a fair trial.
International Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Regional Deputy Director Diana Eltahawy stated, "Iranian authorities have once again clearly demonstrated how much they disregard the right to life and justice by threatening with swift executions within weeks of detention and imposing death sentences in rapidly conducted trials. They are trying to spread fear by instrumentalizing the death penalty and demoralizing the people demanding fundamental change," and continued her remarks as follows:
"Children and young people make up a large portion of those trapped in the state's repressive machinery following the January protests, and their access to effective legal representation is being obstructed. They are subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment, and solitary confinement to force them to 'confess.' The international community must take coordinated global steps to pressure Iranian authorities to stop using the judicial system as a conveyor belt for executions."
Given that authorities systematically warn families not to make statements and subject detainees to solitary confinement, enforced disappearance, and torture to extract forced 'confessions,' it is believed that the number of those at risk of the death penalty is much higher.
"CONFESSIONS" OBTAINED UNDER TORTURE ARE CONSIDERED EVIDENCE 18-year-old Salih Muhammedi was detained on January 15 in connection with the killing of a security officer during protests in Qom on January 8. In less than three weeks, he was sentenced to death by a Criminal Court in Qom on February 4. Muhammedi denies the charges. According to the decision reviewed by Amnesty International, he retracted the 'confessions' he said were obtained under torture in court, but the court disregarded these statements without conducting any investigation. A person knowledgeable about the matter stated that Muhammedi had cuts on his hands as a result of physical violence.
19-year-old Muhammed Emin Biglari, along with Ali Fehim, Ebulfazl Salihi Siyavushhani, Amirhüseyin Hatemi, Şahin Vahidparast Kulur, Şahab Zühdi, and Yaser Recaifar, were sentenced to death by the Tehran 15th Revolutionary Court for "enmity against God" on charges of setting fire to a Basij base. The death sentences were issued on February 9, about a month after their detention. A source with knowledge of the situation reported that Biglari was forcibly disappeared for weeks before being transferred to Gezel Hesar Prison in Alborz province. Authorities obstructed Biglari's access to a lawyer during the investigation phase and then appointed a state-appointed lawyer to the case. This lawyer did not defend Biglari's interests in the rapidly conducted trial based on forced 'confessions.' These individuals were prevented from having independent lawyers retained by their families access to the case file, hindering their ability to appeal to the Supreme Court.
CHILDREN ARE ALSO BEING TRIED WITH DEATH PENALTY REQUESTS 18-year-old İhsan Hüseyinipur Hisarlu, along with 17-year-olds Metin Muhammedi and İrfan Amiri, were tried in a rapidly conducted, torture-based, completely unjust case at the Tehran 26th Revolutionary Court for being held responsible for a fire that resulted in the deaths of two Basij officers in a Basij base inside a mosque in Pakdeşt city on January 8. A source with knowledge of the situation told Amnesty International that Basij officers detained the youths early that morning before the incident occurred, and that İhsan was forced to "confess" his guilt at gunpoint after being subjected to severe beatings. This person reported that the judge rejected the defense of at least three lawyers chosen by İhsan's family, threatened the lawyers, appointed a state-appointed lawyer to the case, and that this lawyer also did not provide an effective defense. 17-year-olds Metin and İrfan, who were tried in the same case, are being held in a juvenile detention center and are being tried with a request for the death penalty, despite international human rights law absolutely prohibiting the death penalty for those under 18.
Similarly, among others facing rapidly conducted, torture-based trials is 35-year-old Ebulfazl Kerimi, who was detained on January 6 for helping two women shot in the legs. A person knowledgeable about the situation stated that Ebulfazl was hit with iron balls, beaten, denied treatment for his injuries, and forced to sign documents confessing his guilt while blindfolded. On approximately February 12, Ebulfazl and 13 others, who were detained on vague charges related to the protests, were told by the judge presiding over the Tehran 15th Revolutionary Court that they had been "sentenced to death."
Other individuals at risk include Şervin Bagherian Cebeli (18), Danial Niyazi (18), Muhammed Abbasi (55), Amirhüseyin Azarpira (24), and Muhammedrıza Tabari.
GLOBAL URGENT ACTION INITIATED TO STOP THE SENTENCES Amnesty International has called on Iranian authorities to immediately halt execution plans for eight individuals sentenced to death, to overturn their convictions and death sentences, and to end the completely unjust trials involving torture for at least 22 other individuals facing rapid proceedings. Amnesty International also urges all UN member states and international and regional organizations to urgently take coordinated diplomatic steps to demand that Iranian authorities overturn these convictions and death sentences and ensure that everyone accused of a defined crime is tried in accordance with the right to a fair trial without resorting to the death penalty. It was emphasized that states should bring the situation in Iran to the International Criminal Court through the UN Security Council.
At the local level, states should initiate coordinated criminal investigations to issue arrest warrants and commence prosecutions under universal and other forms of extraterritorial jurisdiction if evidence is available. All states should pressure Iranian authorities to allow access to detention centers and to follow up on cases by UN Special Procedures and the UN Human Rights Data Collection Mission, as well as representatives of embassies in Iran. Amnesty International has launched a global Urgent Action to stop the executions.