Ten suspects accused of participating in Iran’s January protests have been sentenced to death, and another six received prison sentences of up to 25 years, Iranian media outlets reported Sunday.
The sentences were handed down by Isfahan Revolutionary Court Judges Morteza Barati and Mohammadreza Tavakoli, according to the Iran Human Rights Society.
Taraneh Rahimi, Navid Elyasi, Mehrdad Boeri, Abolfazl Dadgostar, Armin Gholami, Mehdi Mansouri, Ahmadreza Saeedi, Mohammadmehdi Asadi, Parsa Jafari, and Mehdi Jafari were sentenced to death, the independent advocacy group and information network reported.
The defendants were tried on charges including moharebeh (waging war against God), carrying bladed weapons, destruction of public property, assembly and collusion, and propaganda against the state, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.
Romina Rahimi and Milad Boeri were sentenced to 25 years in prison, Hamed Mehralian received a 15-year sentence, and Setayesh Saedi, Sajjad Abedi, and Ali Boeri were each sentenced to five years, it said.
Charged with 'incitement,' 'propaganda'
All 16 defendants were also sentenced to five years for “assembly and collusion,” five years for “incitement,” and one year for “propaganda against the establishment,” Iran International reported, citing an activist.
The case was launched in connection with the deaths of a 37-year-old Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps colonel and a homeless man in Isfahan in January, Iranian diaspora and dissident media outlets reported.
The indictments did not include charges of murder, and there was no documented evidence linking the 16 individuals to either of the deaths, Hengaw reported.
Rahimi was reportedly recorded attempting to prevent the homeless man from being beaten, the report said. The Jerusalem Post was unable to independently locate the footage.
Saeedi told the court he had been tortured by interrogators over his alleged role in the deaths. According to Hengaw and several Iranian diaspora news channels, he said he had been subjected to electric shocks to his neck and genitals.
One of the female defendants reportedly said she had been sexually assaulted, although the court was said to have sentenced her without investigating the allegation.
Iran is continuing to violently crack down on dissent. The protests began in December in response to dire economic conditions and escalated into a broader movement seeking regime change in January.
Tens of thousands of people killed
According to human-rights groups, tens of thousands of people may have been killed by Iranian security forces during the crackdown. The full death toll remains difficult to independently verify amid Tehran’s internet restrictions and reports of mass disappearances.
According to Iran Human Rights, the Islamic regime has executed 511 people since the start of 2026, including at least 29 people in connection with the January anti-government protests. Hundreds of people remain at risk of execution, including more than 70 in Isfahan, the Norway-based NGO said.
The number claimed by Iran Human Rights is notably higher than that presented by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk early in August. At least 56 people have been executed in Iran on national security-related charges since March 19, including 27 in cases linked to protests at the start of the year, Turk said.
With the regime tightening its controls on hijab compliance, and potentially introducing a law that would criminalize speaking to international media or foreign organizations, human-rights groups have warned that Tehran will continue to brutally suppress what it interprets as signs of dissent.
The new law would turn Iran into an “isolated black hole,” Bahar Ghandehari, director of advocacy at the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), told The Guardian.
“It is not simply an attack on journalists and citizen journalists; it is an attempt to sever the entire Iranian society from the rest of the world by criminalizing the free flow of information itself,” she said. “It sends a chilling message and threatens to turn ordinary academic, professional, and civic engagement into a potential national-security crime.”
Authorities have also seemingly begun reopening cases against individuals who have dissented in the past. Iranian actress Katayoun Riahi, who removed her hijab during the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, said a new case against her had been referred to Tehran’s Culture and Media Prosecutor’s Office.
She had been accused of offenses, including “assembly and collusion against national security” and “disturbing public opinion,” Riahi posted on Instagram.