Iran carries out public hangings of three protesters amid broader crackdown
Three men were executed by hanging in Isfahan, Iran, while human-rights groups say dozens more face death sentences linked to January protests and the country’s recent conflict with the United States.
Iran resumed public executions last week, hanging three men in Isfahan after they were convicted of crimes tied to the January protests against the government. Amirhossein Safari, 27, Abolfazl Sepahi, 23, and Alirez Sepahi, 25, were taken to Alikhari Street by van and executed in the early hours of July 28, according to human-rights organisations and family members.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said at least 56 people have been executed on national-security charges since March 19, including 27 linked to the protests, and warned that more than 100 others remain at risk of execution. Iranian lawyers inside the country suggest the actual number of those facing death sentences could be higher.
In the broader Alikhari case, a court sentenced 12 young men to death and several others to prison terms of five to ten years. Four of the death sentences have already been carried out, while eight men await execution. Security forces set up scaffolding and a crane at the square, and a truck equipped with a machine gun escorted the van carrying the defendants.
During the execution, Safari and Abolfazl Sepahi were hanged, while Alireza Sepahi collapsed and was taken to a hospital, with his supporters attributing the incident to heatstroke or a heart attack. Families of the defendants allege that the men were subjected to physical and psychological torture, forced to sign confessions, and denied access to chosen legal counsel. A court-appointed pro bono lawyer reportedly was barred from the case both during the trial and after the death sentences were issued.
"The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity," Volker Türk said in a statement, adding that confessions appear to have been obtained under torture.
Amnesty International condemned the hangings, noting that three of the prisoners on death row had been arrested as children and urging UN member states to take coordinated diplomatic action to halt further executions.
Family members of the condemned have reported threats from security and intelligence forces, warning them against speaking to the media or contacting other defendants’ families, and saying that their entire families could face repercussions.