Mizan news agency, affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, announced that the execution of Mehran Bahramian, one of the detainees from the nationwide 2022 protests in Semirom, Isfahan, had been carried out. Just hours earlier, the Iran Human Rights Society had reported that Bahramian’s family was summoned to Isfahan for a final visit.
This citizen, after spending several years in prison and enduring torture, had been released on heavy bail but was later rearrested and sentenced to death.
In February 2024, the Semirom Revolutionary Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Tavakoli, upheld the death sentences of Mehran and Fazel Bahramian, two brothers arrested during the 2022 protests.
In the same case, Younes Bahramian and Dariush Saedi were each sentenced to 16 years in prison, and their sentences were upheld on appeal. Additionally, Bahareh Shiri, the mother of Ali Abbasi, a protester killed during the demonstrations, was sentenced to eight years in prison.
84th Week Of The “No To Execution Tuesdays” Campaign In 51 Prisons
At that time, the atmosphere in Semirom was heavily securitized. Families of prisoners were pressured to refrain from speaking out. Many relatives of the detainees even feared posting simple messages on social media, as they could be arrested immediately.
The daughter of Morad Bahramian disabled her Instagram account, while Ali Abbasi’s mother, despite limited activity, was sentenced to prison in absentia.
On November 16, 2022, during widespread protests in Semirom, three citizens — Ali Abbasi, Morad Bahramian, and Moslem Houshangi — were shot dead by security forces. Their 40th-day memorial on December 31, 2022, turned into a large anti-regime protest. During the clashes that day, a member of the Basij paramilitary force, Mohsen Rezaei, was killed, which immediately triggered a wave of arrests.
Special forces were deployed throughout the city and raided the homes of the victims’ families. Ali Abbasi’s sister and two of Morad Bahramian’s brothers were arrested at that time.
Ten days later, Mehran and Fazel Bahramian were transferred to the IRGC intelligence detention center in Dolatabad, Isfahan, where they were tortured in solitary confinement until March 2023. They were later moved to Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan but were only allowed brief phone calls.
From these calls, it became evident that Mehran had suffered broken ribs and a ruptured eardrum due to torture, while Fazel sustained severe head and facial injuries.
In March 2023, Dariush Saedi was arrested while returning from Boroujen, and Younes Bahramian was detained at the same time. Both were held in IRGC intelligence solitary cells and denied access to lawyers. Their families were only allowed one short visit in June 2023.
After the news broke that Mehran and Fazel had been sentenced to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh), shopkeepers and merchants in Semirom went on strike.
