Iran carries out eight executions after January 2026 protests

On 13 June 2026 Iranian authorities executed eight prisoners at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. Human‑rights monitors identified two of those executed – Seyed Akbar Banihashem and Amirabbas Dekavand – who had been sentenced to death on murder charges; the remaining six prisoners have not been named publicly.

The executions are part of a wider crackdown on participants in the nationwide protests that began in January 2026. Rights groups report a series of arrests and sentences targeting activists, academics, writers and cultural figures. Singer‑activist Mehdi Pakmehr received a total of six years in prison and lashes; writer Yousef Ansari was sentenced to one year for “propaganda against the regime.” Additional detainees include music instructor Fereydoun Farahani, protest‑related activist Zahra (Mahsa) Jamali, and others sentenced for “disrupting public order.” Two other political prisoners, Ali Fattah and Mohammad Naqizadeh, were placed in isolation pending execution, and a third, Peyman Ganji, has already been sentenced to death.

Human‑rights organisations say the trials lacked independent counsel and were conducted behind closed doors, calling for urgent international intervention to halt the executions and broader repression.