Iran publicly executes two protesters in Isfahan, sparking protests

Protests against executions in Iran by Iranian exiles in London. Photo: Amanda Rose/Avalon/imago

By Teseo La Marca

Two demonstrators — 28-year-old Amir-Hossein Safari and 23-year-old Abolfazl Sepahi — were executed on Tuesday morning in the Iranian city of Isfahan. Photos circulating on social media show cranes set up on a public square during the night leading into Tuesday. The two demonstrators were hanged there at the first call to prayer in the morning.

According to the Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights, Iran has carried out at least 424 death sentences this year alone, most of them related to drug offenses. More than 50 demonstrators have also been executed. In 2025, according to Amnesty International, 2,159 people fell victim to state executions in Iran — more than anywhere else in the world.

In the case of political prisoners, the execution of death sentences usually takes place in secret. The public only learns about them afterward. But in the case of Amir-Hossein Safari and Abolfazl Sepahi, it was different.

The authorities accused the two demonstrators of killing four regime forces during the mass uprising in January. According to human rights organizations, their confessions were likely extracted under torture. Two other men have already been executed in connection with the same trial.

With Safari and Sepahi, the Iranian judiciary apparently wanted to make an example: They were hanged publicly — right on Alikhani Square, the site where the security forces were also killed. Alikhani Square is located in northern Isfahan and connects various working-class neighborhoods. In recent years, it has repeatedly become the scene of mass protests.

Then the Security Forces Opened Fire

The public execution was likely intended as a show of force and a deterrent. But in Iran, state executions face a civil society that has been actively fighting the death penalty for decades. Two weeks ago, around 1,500 Iranian prisoners at Ghezel-Hesar Prison in the city of Karaj went on hunger strike to protest executions.

In the case of Alikhani Square, hundreds of people mobilized immediately. When regime forces began setting up cranes for the impending execution during the night leading into Tuesday, images of it spread like wildfire on social media. Within hours, a large crowd gathered to stop the execution — despite the mortal danger for the demonstrators themselves.

The regime had apparently anticipated reactions from the population and deployed hundreds of security forces to protect the execution. Eyewitness videos show security forces first trying to disperse the peaceful demonstrators with tear gas. Then they opened fire. According to eyewitness reports, which are still unconfirmed, a young psychology student was killed in the process.

At the moment, three other men — Ali Daschti, Amir-Hossein Maleki, and Ghaem Hosseini — face imminent execution in connection with the Alikhani Square trial. According to Iranian activists, their families have been invited to the prison for a final visit.

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