Before dawn on 28 July 2026, Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi were executed in Isfahan. Their deaths were confirmed by Mizan, a news outlet affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, and reported by the Associated Press. Human-rights organisations, including HRANA, report that the hangings were carried out publicly in Alikhani Square. Videos and witness accounts circulated online appear to show a scaffold, a gathering near the site and security forces dispersing people, but Verein Welle has not independently authenticated every image or account.
The two men were defendants in the Alikhani Square case, which arose from protests in Isfahan on 8 January 2026. Their executions came only nine days after Erfan Esfandiari and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi, two other defendants in the same case, were executed on 19 July. Four lives have now been taken in less than ten days while serious questions about the fairness of the proceedings remain unanswered.
What the authorities allege
According to the judiciary’s account, Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi were convicted in connection with the deaths of four security-force members. State media also accused defendants in the case of arson, damage to a police station and destruction of public property. These are serious allegations, and the loss of every life during the January unrest deserves an impartial investigation.
However, an accusation by state authorities is not the same as an independently established fact. The Revolutionary Court hearings were closed, the judgments have not been published and the precise individual conduct attributed to each defendant remains unclear. This lack of transparency makes independent assessment of the evidence impossible.
Twelve death sentences in one closed hearing
On 27 July, UN human-rights experts condemned the imposition of death sentences on 12 young men in a single hearing. They said that sentencing 12 people to death in a closed courtroom, without clarity about each person’s individual responsibility, violated established fair-trial standards. Their statement called for the remaining death sentences to be quashed and for an immediate halt to executions.
The UN experts reported that the men, mostly in their late teens and early twenties, had allegedly been arbitrarily detained. Some were reportedly subjected to enforced disappearance and ill-treatment. They also raised concern that the prosecution relied on confessions broadcast on television even though the charges, evidence and judgments were not publicly available.
The statement was issued before the executions of Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi. The fact that the hangings proceeded immediately after the UN warning deepens the urgency for the remaining defendants.
Coerced confessions and restricted access to lawyers
UN experts stressed that confessions obtained under coercion must never be admitted as evidence and that broadcasting confessions before trial violates the presumption of innocence. They highlighted the case of Shervin Bagherian Jebeli, who had turned 18 shortly before his arrest. State television aired a video of him confessing to violence within a week and before any trial. The experts said he appeared not to understand the meaning of the capital charge against him, raising concern about whether he had access to a lawyer of his own choosing.
Iran Human Rights and HRANA have reported further procedural concerns in the Alikhani Square case. These include very brief proceedings, trials by telephone or video from prison, lack of effective access to the case file, families being denied copies or details of judgments, and courts allegedly disregarding defence evidence. Iran Human Rights also cited sources alleging torture and pressure to obtain self-incriminating statements. These are human-rights reports and allegations; the authorities should permit independent investigation rather than leave them unanswered.
Erfan Esfandiari and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi
Iran Human Rights reported that Erfan Esfandiari, reportedly 18, and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi, a 23-year-old Afghan national, were executed in Isfahan Central Prison on 19 July. The organisation said it had not been able to independently confirm Erfan’s exact age at the time of the alleged offence. It also cited a source alleging that their initial hearing lasted about ten minutes and that Erfan told the judge he had been tortured.
The case illustrates why precise language matters. The executions are confirmed. The allegations of torture, coercion and defective proceedings require an independent inquiry. They must not be presented as judicially proven facts, but neither can they be dismissed when the death penalty leaves no possibility of correcting an error.
Other defendants remain at imminent risk
After the four executions in July, at least eight members of the group of 12 described by UN experts appear to remain under death sentences. Rights organisations report that the wider proceedings may be larger: HRANA says 15 defendants were initially sentenced to death, one sentence was overturned and 14 were upheld. Iran Human Rights has separately reported more than 70 January protesters on death row in Isfahan Central Prison, including people connected to other cases.
These differing numbers are not a minor detail. They reflect closed hearings, unpublished judgments and restricted access to reliable case information. The UN and relevant international institutions should urgently seek a verified list of every defendant, their location, legal status, age at the time of the alleged offence, access to counsel and any planned execution date.
The right to life requires a fair and individual trial
International human-rights law protects the right to life and requires strict fair-trial guarantees in every capital case. Even where charges concern intentional killing, a death sentence cannot be considered lawful after a process based on collective responsibility, an unclear individual role, coerced evidence or denial of meaningful legal representation. If a defendant was under 18 at the time of the alleged offence, execution is absolutely prohibited.
A public execution adds another layer of concern. It exposes families and the wider community to a deliberately visible act of irreversible punishment. It cannot answer legitimate questions about evidence, responsibility or due process. Justice requires truth, individual accountability and a reliable legal process, not collective proceedings that leave essential facts hidden.
Welle’s role and the action needed now
Verein Welle documents urgent cases, verifies information across independent sources, clearly labels state claims and human-rights allegations, and brings threatened prisoners to the attention of Swiss civil society and international mechanisms. Our work is independent and non-political. It is centred on human dignity, the right to life, fair trials and protection from torture and ill-treatment.
Welle calls on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, other relevant UN Special Procedures and the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to act urgently. They should seek immediate confirmation of the remaining defendants’ status, demand access to lawyers and families, investigate allegations of torture and coerced confessions, and press for all remaining death sentences in the Alikhani Square case to be quashed.
Relevant international institutions should also call for a moratorium on executions and independent retrials that meet international standards. Four men in this case have already been executed. For those who remain, action cannot wait for another dawn announcement. International attention must now be converted into verifiable protection, legal access and an immediate stop to further executions.
Sources and editorial note
This article distinguishes official statements from allegations and reports by human-rights organisations. Because independent access to prisons and court records is restricted, some details could not be independently verified by Verein Welle.
Source: Iran Human Rights, report on Erfan Esfandiari and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi (19 July 2026)
Source: Iran Human Rights, “70+ January Protesters Awaiting the Gallows in Isfahan Prison” (22 July 2026)
Source: HRANA, “Isfahan: Abolfazl Sepahi and Amirhossein Safari Publicly Executed” (28 July 2026)
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