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IRAN - 26 Protesters Sentenced to Death, Hundreds More at Risk

February 19, 2026:

February 19, 2026 - IRAN. 26 Protesters Sentenced to Death, Hundreds More at Risk

At least 26 protesters have been sentenced to death and hundreds more, including children, are facing death penalty charges following the bloody massacre of the recent nationwide protests. At the same time, defendants and their families are being subjected to pressure and threats to prevent them from publicising their cases.

This is while on 16 February, the head of judiciary reiterated orders to “prosecute and punish the main perpetrators of the unrest and terrorist acts” and to “act decisively and without any leniency.” In a press conference held the next day, the judiciary spokesperson announced that 8,843 indictments had been issued in relation to the nationwide protests.

IHRNGO urges the international community, civil society, and the public to raise the political cost of these death sentences through political pressure and sustained and coordinated campaigns.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the organisation, stated: “The danger of mass executions of detained protesters is real and imminent. These death sentences are based on confessions extracted under torture and issued in proceedings that bear no resemblance to fair trials. The authorities appear determined to continue the mass killing of protesters, this time behind prison walls. The international community must act with urgency and determination to stop these executions. Saving the lives of detained protesters must be the highest priority in any dialogue or negotiations with the Islamic Republic.”
According to information obtained by IHRNGO, at least 26 protesters have been sentenced to death in their preliminary trials. At the same time, state media aired the trials of four more protesters facing death penalty charges in Tehran, two of whom are under 18 years of age.
In a statement issued on 4 February, IHRNGO also published the names of dozens of other protesters at risk of death penalty charges and the public trial of Mohammad Abbasi and his daughter. State media also continue to air confessions obtained under torture and coercion.
In multiple cases, trials have been conducted online by the Revolutionary Courts. It is important to note that once a case is treated as a national security matter, defendants lose the right to have lawyers of their choice. Article 48 of Iran’s Code of Criminal Procedure grants suspects the right to request a lawyer of their choice in the pre-trial phase. However, a Note added to the Article in 2015, limits this right for those accused of “crimes against internal or external security” to a list of government-approved lawyers during the preliminary phase.

PROTESTERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
Seven protesters who are co-defendants in the same case are detailed below. These protesters are being held in Tehran/Alborz province prisons. IHRNGO will not publish the names of the 19 other protesters at this time due to insufficient information and security concerns. 13 of the protesters are held in Qom and six in Isfahan. IHRNGO previously reported news of Saleh Mohammadi’s sentence who is included in this figure. None of the 26 cases have been announced by official sources.
Mohammad Amin Biglari (19), Ali Fahim (23), Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, Amirhossein Hatami, Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, Shahab Zohdi and Yaser Rajaifar were arrested in Tehran on 8 January. According to informed IHRNGO sources, Amirhossein Hatami is under the age of 18, which IHRNGO is working to verify. Mohammad Amin was held incommunicado for three weeks while his father was searching for him in morgues.
The forced confessions of five of the defendants were aired by state media on 18 January. In the video, they are referred to as “deceived youth” who were “directed by American-Zionist terrorist elements” to attack an IRGC base in Tehran. This is while, according to an informed source, two of the defendants were “arrested elsewhere and lumped in with this case.”
The seven defendants were tried by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by “Death Judge” Salavati on 7 February. The next day, they were sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh (enmity against God).
In an interview with Emtedad on 18 February, Hassan Aghakhani, a lawyer hired to represent Mohammad Amin Biglari said: “When we attended court, the head of the branch refused to grant us permission either to review the case file or to present a defence.”
The lawyer further stated: “The court-appointed lawyer informed the family that my client had confessed, yet no details of this alleged confession have been provided. The extent to which a confession allegedly made by a 19-year-old who grew up without parental support can be relied upon is highly questionable. It appears that the confession recorded in the case file is not attributable to my client, and even within this purported confession, references are made to economic hardship and financial distress.”
The case is currently under review at Branch 9 of the Supreme Court. “We will continue our efforts to meet with the head of Branch 9 and urge him to allow us access to the case file and to submit a supplementary defence brief, so that my client’s legal right to a proper defence may be upheld in accordance with the law,” Hassan Aghakhani concluded.

OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED CASES OF PROTESTERS FACING DEATH PENALTY CHARGES
Islamic Republic authorities have published televised confessions and “trials” of several protesters who are facing death sentences.
Mohammadreza Tabari’s trial at the Tehran Revolutionary Court was aired on 7 February. He is accused of taking part in the protests in Baharestan, Tehran, on 8 January where he allegedly injured a security officer with a firearm. His charges were cited as “moharebeh (enmity against God) by brandishing a firearm with the intention of intimidating the public and the security forces, as well as carrying out operational actions in support of monarchist groups affiliated with the accursed Zionist regime, and instilling public fear and terror by firing at security forces.”
According to the report, Mohammadreza was arrested three days after the alleged offence when he surrendered to authorities. Taking the stand, Mohammadreza expressed remorse through tears as he was scolded by the judge. While his court-appointed lawyer requested mitigation of punishment based on his voluntary surrender, he did not provide any further defence. It is important to note that the individual depicted in the CCTV footage presented in court cannot be reliably identified as the alleged perpetrator.
Ehsan Hosseinipour Hesarlu (18), Matin Mohammadi (17) and Erfan Amiri (17) are three protesters accused of attacking Seyed al-Shohada Mosque in Pakdasht on 8 January, leading to the deaths of two people. Their trial was aired on 14 February. They are accused of “operational action against internal security through effective participation in the unrest of 8 January in Pakdasht County; assembly and collusion to be present and act against the country’s internal security following calls circulated on hostile social media, particularly by the President of the United States and the usurping Zionist regime; participation in the killing of two young defenders of the country’s security during a sacred month; the deliberate arson of Seyed al-Shohada Mosque; and the destruction of public property.”
The court-appointed lawyer is not shown and did not make a defence. Matin, pictured on the right, is the only defendant to take the stand. He was compelled to identify himself in the CCTV footage; otherwise, the alleged perpetrator would have been unidentifiable.
However, Milad Panahipour also posted about the case on social media. According to the lawyer, when he went with Ehsan’s family to Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, Judge Afshari refused to allow him to take on the case. Meanwhile, the court-appointed lawyer refuses to communicate with the family. The lawyer then provided a list of flaws that shed a clearer light on the case and trial:

1. To date, three court sessions have been held in the presence of cameras and representatives of the judiciary and the state broadcaster. In the first two sessions, Ehsan categorically denied all charges and stated that his previous confessions had been obtained under violence by armed officers, with a weapon forced into his mouth, and therefore lacked credibility. However, no images or reports from those two sessions were released. In the third session, which was held and recorded on Friday rather than yesterday, Ehsan Hosseini-Pour allegedly confessed to setting fire to the mosque and killing two people.
2. In the footage that was broadcast, even the court-appointed lawyer was not present.
3. Ehsan was arrested at 21:30 on 8/1/2026, while the mosque arson began at 23:30 on the same night.
4. Footage of an attack by a number of protesters on the door of Seyyed al-Shohada Mosque in Pakdasht has been broadcast on television, and Ehsan does not appear in any of the images.
5. According to the family, mobile phone location data for Ehsan was obtained by order of a judicial authority, and Ehsan was not near the mosque at those times.
6. There is no witness, image, or evidence of Ehsan’s presence at the mosque or of him setting it on fire, and the case is based solely on his confession.
7. The manner and speed with which the case has progressed, the extremely serious charges, the televised coverage, the very young age of the defendants (Ehsan is 18 years old and the two other defendants are 17), and the defendants’ respectable but vulnerable and uninformed families, all indicate a serious intention by the system to issue a death sentence and even to carry it out before Nowruz.”

https://iranhr.net/en/articles/8624/