Iran executes 'foreign national' over alleged involvement in January protests

Iran executed a foreign national accused of taking part in anti-government protests in the city of Isfahan in January, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported on Thursday.

The judiciary identified the man as Qaim Hosseini, but did not disclose his nationality. Mizan said Hosseini, who was also known by the alias “Arian,” had confessed to taking part in protests held on 8 January in Ali Khani Square in Isfahan.

The judiciary had previously said that four security personnel were killed during protests in the square. Authorities arrested 59 people after the incident on charges of taking part in the demonstrations.

Four other detainees in the case — Abolfazl Sepahi, Amirhossein Safari, Erfan Esfandiari and Golmohammad Mohammadi — had previously been executed.

Hosseini was carrying a “cold weapon” during the protests, Mizan reported. According to the news agency, based on evidence in the case and “explicit confessions” by other defendants, Hosseini had been actively present at the scene where security forces were killed and had kicked the bodies of the dead officers.

Mizan also reported that Hosseini had been accused of taking items from a charity organisation and setting them on fire.

Iran’s judiciary said Hosseini’s trial was held in the presence of a lawyer and that the death sentence was reviewed and upheld by the Supreme Court following his appeal.

Human rights organisations have repeatedly raised concerns over reports of forced confessions by detainees in Iran, as well as restrictions on effective access to legal counsel, fair trial guarantees and defendants’ rights during detention, investigation and trial.

Rights activists and organisations have also accused Tehran of using the death penalty in protest-related cases as a tool to spread fear and suppress dissent.

A report released earlier this week by the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran stated that Tehran has executed at least 901 people since the beginning of 2026, including 28 executions carried out in August alone.

In a report to the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres said at least 975 people were reportedly executed in Iran in 2024, a 17% increase from the previous year and the highest annual figure recorded since 2015.

The report also documented a further sharp rise in the first half of 2025, with at least 612 executions recorded between January and June, or 119% more compared with the same period in 2024.

The UN has repeatedly raised concerns over the use of the death penalty in Iran, particularly in cases involving drug offences, national security charges and ethnic minorities, as well as over fair-trial guarantees and the use of torture-tainted confessions.