Iran | Executions in Ilam, Karaj

Iranian authorities have executed Iraj Ebrahimizadeh, a 37-year-old Kurdish prisoner from Ilam, at the city's Central Prison. He had previously been sentenced to death under the principle of qisas (retribution in kind) after being convicted of "premeditated murder."

According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the execution was carried out during the early hours of Wednesday, July 22, 2026. Ebrahimizadeh had been transferred to solitary confinement one day earlier in preparation for the execution.

Informed sources told Hengaw that Ebrahimizadeh was arrested on October 23, 2023, on charges of "premeditated murder" and was subsequently sentenced to death by the Ilam Province Criminal Court.

The execution has not been announced by media outlets affiliated with Iran's judiciary or by Iranian authorities.

Iran executes January protest detainee Mehdi Khanki at Ghezel Hesar Prison

Iranian authorities have executed Mehdi Khanki, a resident of Karaj who was arrested during the January 2026 protests and later sentenced to death on security-related charges.

According to information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Khanki was executed at dawn on July 22, 2026, at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. Iranian state media, including the Fars News Agency, reported the execution.

Neither Khanki’s arrest nor his death sentence had been publicly reported prior to his execution.

Khanki was arrested at his home in Karaj on February 10, 2026, by officers of the Intelligence Organization of Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA). He was later sentenced to death and had his assets confiscated by the Revolutionary Court on charges including “operational action in favor of the Zionist regime and the United States,” “membership in groups opposed to the state,” and “possession of weapons and explosive devices.”

His execution was carried out swiftly, without due process or adherence to international fair trial standards, and after he was denied the fundamental guarantees of an effective legal defense.

Source: Hengaw, Staff, July 22, 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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