The First Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Isfahan has issued death sentences for 10 detainees arrested during the January protests in the case known as the “Isfahan Shohada Square” case. Six other defendants in the case have also been sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Human rights sources report restrictions on lawyers’ access to the case file, torture during interrogations, and the failure to properly investigate a complaint by one of the detained women concerning sexual assault while in custody.
According to a report by the Bazdashtshodegan website, the sentences were issued at the trial court level. The 10 defendants—Taraneh Rahimi, Navid Elyasi, Abolfazl Dadgostar, Mehdi Mansouri, Ahmadreza Saeedi, Mehrdad Boeri, Mohammadmehdi Asadi, Armin Gholami, Parsa Jafari, and Mehdi Jafari, also known as Mehdi Khosravi—have been sentenced to death.
Six other defendants in the case have also received lengthy prison sentences. According to reports, Romina Rahimi and Milad Boeri have each been sentenced to 25 years in prison, Hamed Mehralian to 15 years, and Setayesh Saedi, Sajjad Abedi, and Ali Boeri to five years each.
‘No To Executions Tuesdays’ Campaign Marks 136th Week in 62 Prisons Across Iran
The case concerns the January 2026 uprising in the area around Shohada Square in Isfahan. Sixteen people were arrested in connection with these events and tried on charges including “waging war against God,” “assembly and collusion,” “destruction of public property,” and “propaganda activities against the regime.”
Issuance of unjust death sentences for 10 young people from the uprising
One of the case’s most significant ambiguities is that despite the killing of two people during the events at Shohada Square, including an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) member and a homeless citizen, the defendants’ indictments do not include a direct charge of killing these individuals. Moreover, the court documents contain no direct evidence establishing the defendants’ role in these deaths.
Meanwhile, Ahmadreza Saeedi spoke in court about being tortured during interrogation. Reports also indicate that one of the female defendants filed a complaint concerning sexual assault while in custody; according to human rights sources, the complaint was not effectively investigated before the sentences were issued. The defendants’ lawyers had also protested the lack of access to parts of the case file and the insufficient time provided to prepare their defense.
The issuance of 10 death sentences in this case, although the sentences are still at the trial court level, has heightened concerns about the judicial process and the possibility that the death sentences will be carried out.
It is worth recalling that in another case known as the Alikhani Square case in Isfahan, 10 young people from the uprising were also sentenced to death, and the sentences of five of the defendants in that case have so far been carried out.
