Iran publicly executes two January protest detainees in Isfahan

Hengaw – Tuesday, July 28, 2026—Iranian authorities publicly executed Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani, 23, and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi, 29, two men arrested during the January 2026 protests, early Tuesday in Alikhani Square in Isfahan. Their executions were carried out in connection with the so-called “Alikhani Square case.” The whereabouts and condition of a third defendant, Alireza Sepahi, remain unknown.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the two men were executed at dawn on July 28, 2026, under heavy security measures in Alikhani Square, Isfahan.

Videos circulating on social media appear to show a large deployment of security forces at the execution site overnight. Security forces dispersed people who had gathered at the scene to protest the executions, resulting in several injuries and arrests.

Sources familiar with the case said Sepahi Badjani and Safari Hosseinabadi were subjected to severe physical and psychological torture following their arrest in an effort to obtain forced confessions. They were denied access to independent legal counsel and a fair trial, and their death sentences were based solely on confessions obtained under torture.

Iran’s judiciary said the two men had been convicted in connection with clashes during the Alikhani Square protests, including carrying bladed weapons and involvement in the killing of a government security force member. The judiciary did not provide independent evidence to support the allegations or details of the judicial proceedings.

Hengaw expresses concern over the fate of Alireza Sepahi, another defendant in the same case. His family was summoned for a final visit, but his whereabouts remain unknown, raising fears that his execution may be imminent.

At least 22 people arrested during the January 2026 protests have been executed in Iran over the past five months, according to data compiled by Hengaw’s Statistics and Documentation Center. The executions of Sepahi Badjani and Safari Hosseinabadi are the first known cases of public executions of January protest detainees.

Hengaw previously reported that at least 12 defendants in the Alikhani Square case had been sentenced to death. With the executions of Sepahi Badjani and Safari Hosseinabadi, the number of executions in the case has risen to four, while eight other prisoners remain at risk of execution.

Source: Hengaw, Staff, July 28, 2026

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but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
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