Amnesty International announced that at least 30 people, including several children, are at risk of execution following the nationwide protests of January 2026 and called for the immediate halt of executions and the overturning of the convictions.
Amnesty International said on Friday, February 20, 2026, that officials of Iran’s regime must immediately stop the execution of eight individuals who have been sentenced to death in connection with the January 2026 protests.
The organization also called for the annulment of the convictions and an end to the rushed and grossly unfair judicial proceedings against at least 22 others.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also called on February 19, 2026, for the immediate release of all children detained during the protests in Iran and stressed that the detention of children in all forms must end.
Expressing concern over the continued detentions, the UN agency called for independent access to the children and for Iran’s regime to uphold its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Risk of execution for at least 30 people
According to information compiled by Amnesty International, at least 30 people are facing the death penalty in connection with the protests that took place in January 2026.
Eight of them, who were sentenced to death in February within weeks of their arrest, are 18-year-old Saleh Mohammadi, 19-year-old Mohammadamin Biglari, Ali Fahim, Abolfazl Salehi Siavoshani, Amirhossein Hatami, Shahin Vahedparast Kolour, Shahab Zahedi, and Yaser Rajaeifar.
At least 22 others, including two 17-year-old teenagers, are currently on trial or awaiting trial.
Amnesty International stated that these individuals have faced confessions extracted under torture and other serious violations of their right to a fair trial, including being denied access to a lawyer during the investigation phase and the refusal to accept independent lawyers chosen by their families.
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director, said:
“The Iranian authorities are once again laying bare the depth of their disregard for the right to life and justice by threatening expedited executions and imposing death sentences in fast-tracked trials, only weeks after arrest.
“Children and young adults form the bulk of those caught in the machinery of state repression following the January protests,” she added
The organization said the actual number of people at risk of execution is likely much higher, as authorities prevent families from speaking out and hold detainees in incommunicado detention.
Amnesty International urged UN member states and regional and international bodies to take immediate and coordinated diplomatic action to overturn the death sentences of Mohammadi and Biglari and to prevent further death sentences from being issued.
The organization also called for UN special rapporteurs, the UN fact-finding mission on Iran, and embassy representatives to be granted access to detention centers and allowed to attend court proceedings.
Show trials and forced confessions
Mohammadi, 18, was arrested on January 5, 2026, and on February 4, 2026, was sentenced to death by Branch one of the Criminal Court of Qom province on charges of involvement in the killing of a security officer, an accusation he has denied.
Amnesty International said that he retracted his “confessions” in court and stated they had been obtained under torture, but the court dismissed the claim without investigation.
Nineteen-year-old Biglari and six others were also sentenced to death on February 9, 2026, by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Abolghasem Salavati, on charges of “enmity against God” and for “setting fire to a Basij base.” The Basij is a paramilitary force affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
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According to an informed source who spoke with Amnesty International, Biglari was subjected to enforced disappearance for weeks and was denied access to a lawyer during the investigation phase.
Amnesty International stated that these two teenagers are facing charges punishable by death despite the explicit prohibition of executing individuals who were under 18 at the time of the alleged offense.
The organization emphasized that since 2022, following nationwide protests, the use of the death penalty in Iran has increased, and in 2025 the highest number of executions since 1989 was recorded.
Amnesty International called for the situation in Iran to be referred to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and for the prosecution of responsible officials under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
