IRAN EXECUTES THREE IN CONNECTION WITH JANUARY PROTEST UNREST

​TEHRAN — Iranian judicial authorities have executed three men convicted of carrying out coordinated sabotage and armed attacks during nationwide anti-government demonstrations in January.

​The capital sentences for Hassan Divband, Hamid Kazemi, and Reza Zanganeh were carried out early Sunday morning following formal endorsement by the Supreme Court, according to an official announcement published by Mizan Online, the media arm of the Iranian judiciary.

​Judicial Findings and Charges

​State prosecutors stated that the defendants were found guilty of acting on behalf of hostile foreign entities, specifically implicating the United States and Israel in orchestrating the civil unrest.

​According to judicial documents cited by Mizan Online, the convicts engaged in violent operations in the city of Karaj, located west of Tehran. Authorities alleged that the men deployed Molotov cocktails, improvised explosives, bladed weapons, and firearms against security personnel, alongside setting public facilities and infrastructure ablaze.

​Additional co-defendants implicated in the same Karaj network received prison terms ranging from five to ten years.

​Escalating Unrest and Divergent Death Tolls

​The protests initially ignited in late December, driven by surging living costs and economic grievances, before rapidly swelling into broad anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9.

​Official Iranian reports have attributed the resulting widespread violence and fatalities to foreign-backed “terrorist acts,” placing the death toll during the peak of the demonstrations at over 3,000.

​In contrast, international human rights organizations and foreign-based NGOs have challenged these figures, contending that the actual casualties were higher and asserting that Iranian security forces fired directly on peaceful protesters.

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​Growing International Scrutiny

​Human rights advocates have expressed mounting concern over an apparent surge in capital punishments across the Islamic Republic. Observers note that the frequency of executions has accelerated amid heightened regional hostilities and the ongoing Middle East conflict, which escalated following US-Israeli strikes earlier in the year.

​Legal experts warn that numerous other individuals detained during the January protests remain on death row, facing imminent execution as the judiciary pursues stringent security prosecutions.