Iran executes three men arrested during protests in Mashhad in January

Ebrahim Dolatabadinejad, Mehdi Rasouli and Mohammadreza Miri, three protesters arrested in connection with the 8 and 9 January protests

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 4 May 2026: State media reported that Ebrahim Dolatabadinejad, Mehdi Rasouli and Mohammadreza Miri, three protesters arrested in connection with the 8 and 9 January protests in Mashhad, were executed at an undisclosed location.

Since 18 March, at least 24 political prisoners and four people accused of espionage, have been executed. 13 of the executed political prisoners were protesters, 12 of whom were arrested in connection with the January protests, and one in relation with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.

IHRNGO condemns the executions in the strongest terms. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the organisation stated: “The international community, and the EU in particular, must respond firmly to the ongoing wave of executions. Unless the political cost is raised through clear and strong international reactions, there is a serious risk that these executions will continue on a daily basis in the coming weeks and months!”

According to Tasnim News Agency, protesters Ebrahim Dolatabadinejad (left photo), Mehdi Rasouli (middle photo) and Mohammadreza Miri (right photo) were hanged at an undisclosed location in Mashhad. The report does not specify when the executions were carried out. All three men were sentenced to death and the confiscation of property under the "Law on Intensification of Penalties for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile Countries" for taking "operational action" on behalf of hostile governments against national security on 8 and 9 January 2026.

Mehdi Rasouli and Mohammadreza Miri were co-defendants accused of “directly participating in the murder of a security officer, manufacturing and wielding weapons including a handmade sword, using Molotov cocktails, and destroying public property” on 8 January.

In a separate case, Ebrahim Dolatabadinejad was accused of acting as a protest leader by using social media to incite the public and guiding protesters on Tabarsi Boulevard toward the Governor’s Office and the state broadcaster for "destructive actions." He reportedly “led a group of 250 to 300 machete-wielding individuals to block roads, resulting in clashes, the deaths of security forces, and the destruction of property, including a Basij base and a bank."

On 30 April, IHRNGO published a list of 44 protesters at risk of execution, which included Ebrahim Dolatabadinejad, a father of two.

Since 18 March, the Islamic Republic has announced the executions of 24 political prisoners, 14 of whom were protesters. Within that same timeframe, an additional four individuals were executed for alleged espionage for Israel.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, May 4, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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