Wednesday, January 14, 2026 - Iran is reportedly set to execute its first protester in connection with mass arrests over the widespread anti-regime demonstrations, according to human rights groups.
Erfan Soltani, 26, is scheduled to be hanged to death
on Wednesday, January 14, after he was arrested last week during the protests
in Karaj, the NGO groups Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and National Union for
Democracy in Iran (NUFD) said.
"His family was told that he had been sentenced to
death and that the sentence is due to be carried out on 14 January,"
sources told IHRNGO.
IHRNGO Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement
that "the widespread killing of civilian protesters in recent days by
the Islamic Republic is reminiscent of the regime’s crimes in the
1980s, which have been recognized as crimes against humanity."
"The risk of mass and extrajudicial executions of
protesters is extremely serious," the statement added. "Under the
Responsibility to Protect, the international community has a duty to protect
civilian protesters against mass killings by the Islamic Republic and its
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. We call on people and civil society in
democratic countries to remind their governments of this responsibility."
The NUFD is calling for international support to halt
Soltani’s execution, stressing that his "only crime was calling for
freedom" for Iran.
"Be his voice," the group wrote on X.
Soltani was allegedly denied access to a lawyer, according
to the NUFD.
According to The US Sun, Soltani was charged with
"waging war against God," a crime punishable by death in Iran.
Soltani’s alleged execution has yet to be independently
verified amid a communications blackout as the country's leaders seek to quell
the dissent
While over 500 people have lost their lives, more than
10,000 people have reportedly been arrested in recent weeks for participating
in the anti-government protests sparked by Iran’s failing economy, according to
human rights groups, and many have begun to demand total regime change as the
demonstrations continue.
Tehran's crackdown on the demonstrations has also led to
more than 500 de@ths, human rights groups said.
President Donald Trump has warned Tehran that
violence against the protesters would be met with a U.S. military response,
saying on Friday that they "better not start sh0oting, because we’ll start
sh0oting, too."
"Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before.
The USA stands ready to help!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
The White House confirmed on Monday that Trump was weighing
whether to bomb Iran.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told
reporters that diplomacy remains Trump’s first option, but that the president
"has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems
necessary.""He certainly doesn’t want to see people being k!lled in
the streets of Tehran. And unfortunately that’s something we are seeing right
now," she added.
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