Iran | Executions in Shahroud, Isfahan, Tabriz, Karaj, Kashan, Ahvaz, Shiraz, Yazd, Birjand

The Iranian Judiciary has executed Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saeedi, two men arrested in connection with the January protests, amid a continuing surge in political executions and the authorities’ ongoing campaign of reprisals against protesters.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the executions of Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saeedi were carried out in the early hours of Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at Shahroud Central Prison in Semnan Province. The executions were announced by Mizan News Agency, the official media outlet of the Iranian Judiciary.

The two men were arrested by government forces in Shahroud during the January protests and were later transferred to the city's prison after undergoing intensive interrogations in security detention facilities.

In a joint case, the Iranian Judiciary charged the two protesters with “waging war against God” (moharebeh), “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz), “use of weapons,” “destruction of public property,” and “acting against internal security.” They were subsequently sentenced to death by a branch of the Revolutionary Court.

Despite official claims that the case proceeded through the legal process, such death sentences are routinely issued and carried out within a deeply opaque judicial system marked by closed-door proceedings, denial of access to independent legal counsel, and reliance on forced confessions extracted under severe physical and psychological torture.

Executions of at least eight prisoners carried out across Iran

The Iranian Judiciary has carried out the executions of at least eight prisoners in recent days in prisons across Iran. The prisoners, including Gilak, Lor, Arab, and Turkish men, were executed in Isfahan, Tabriz, Karaj, Kashan, Ahvaz, and Shiraz on charges of “premeditated murder” and drug-related offenses. Among those executed was a 71-year-old man, while one prisoner was put to death in secret without being granted a final visit with his family.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the executions of Fariborz Jafari, 27, from Khomeinishahr, and Hamidreza Afsharipour, 51, a Gilak man from Fuman in Gilan Province and the father of three children, were carried out at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan in the early hours of Monday, June 15, 2026.

Fariborz Jafari had been convicted of “premeditated murder” and was previously held in Najafabad Prison before being transferred to Ward 4 of Dastgerd Prison ahead of his execution. Hamidreza Afsharipour had been arrested approximately two years ago on drug-related charges and was subsequently sentenced to death.

The same day, the death sentence of Rasoul Atapour, a 71-year-old Turkish man and father of five, was carried out at Tabriz Central Prison. He had been arrested nine years earlier on drug-related charges and later sentenced to death.

Also among the executions carried out on June 15 was Alireza Ahmadi Balsini, known as Ali Balans, who was secretly executed at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. He had been arrested in May 2020 in Eslamshahr on charges related to transporting 120 kilograms of methamphetamine and was subsequently sentenced to death. Judicial authorities denied him a final visit with his family, and the execution was carried out without prior notice to his relatives.

Mohammad Javad Salmani, 23, from Kashan, was also executed on June 15 at Kashan Central Prison after being convicted of “premeditated murder.” He had been arrested four years ago, when he was 19 years old, and later sentenced to death.

The execution of Seyed Adnan Mousavi, an Arab man from Ramshir (Khalifeh), was likewise carried out on June 15 at Sepidar Prison in Ahvaz. He had been arrested three years earlier on charges of “premeditated murder” and was subsequently sentenced to death.

Information received by Hengaw also indicates that the executions of Masoud Asgari, from Shiraz, and Peyman Shahkarami, a Lor man from Khorramabad, were carried out at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan on May 12.

Masoud Asgari was married and the father of five children. He had been arrested five years earlier on drug-related charges and sentenced to death. Peyman Shahkarami had been convicted of “premeditated murder” and was also sentenced to death.

Iranian state media and official sources affiliated with the Judiciary have not announced the executions of these eight prisoners.

Executions in Yazd

Two Baloch prisoners, Ghafur Shahbakhsh and Omar Shahbakhsh, were executed in Yazd Central Prison after spending several years on death row. Both had been sentenced to death in a joint case involving drug-related charges.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the executions of Omar Shahbakhsh (Faqirzehi), 24, from the Korein District of Zahedan, and Ghafur Shahbakhsh, 25, a father of one from the Sarjangal area of Zahedan, were carried out in the early hours of Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at Yazd Central Prison.

Sources familiar with the case stated that the two men were arrested several years ago in Yazd Province on drug-related charges and were later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court of Yazd in a joint case.

The two prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement on Sunday, June 14, in preparation for their executions and were granted a final visit with their families the following day.

Neither Iran’s state-affiliated media nor official sources affiliated with the Judiciary had announced the executions of the two Baloch prisoners.

Executions in Birjand

Iranian authorities have secretly executed at least two Baloch prisoners, identified as Bilal Saadat Jahani and Mohammad Amin Narouei, in Birjand Central Prison. Both men had been sentenced to death in separate cases on drug-related charges.

According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Bilal Saadat Jahani (Gargij), a 35-year-old Baloch prisoner from Azadshahr in Golestan Province, was executed at dawn on Monday, June 15, 2026, in Birjand Central Prison. The execution was carried out without prior notice to his family and without granting him a final visit.

Sources told Hengaw that Jahani, who was married and the father of three children, was arrested in Birjand in 2023 and was subsequently sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court of the city on charges related to drug offenses.

In a separate case, another Baloch prisoner, Mohammad Amin Narouei, 57, was secretly executed in the same prison at dawn on Sunday, June 14, 2026.

Narouei, a father of three from Zahedan, had been arrested in 2022 on drug-related charges and was later sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court.

Neither execution has been announced by Iranian state media or by official sources affiliated with the judiciary.

Source: Hengaw, Staff, June 15-16, 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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