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Iran will reportedly hang a 26-year-old man captured at anti-regime protests

January 13, 2026 | | Print Article

Iran will reportedly hang a 26-year-old man in what would be the first execution related to anti-regime protests.

According to two NGO groups, Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) and National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFD), Erfan Soltani is set to be hanged on Wednesday. He was arrested in Karaj during protests against the Iranian government last week, and sources told the IHRNGO that his family was told “he had been sentenced to death and that the sentence is due to be carried out on 14 January.”

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the IHRNGO, issued a statement in which he said, “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. 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,” he continued.

NUFD has also called for international pressure on Iran to halt the execution, further claiming that he was denied a lawyer  and saying his “only crime was calling for freedom.” The US Sun reported that Soltani was officially charged with “waging war against God,” though both the charge and his alleged scheduled execution have yet to be confirmed by official sources.

“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,” Fox News reported. “Tehran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has also led to more than 500 deaths, human rights groups said.”

President Donald Trump has spoken out about the unrest in the Middle East, supporting the protestors in their fight for freedom.

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“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Sierra Marlee
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