Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raeisi, two detainees arrested during the January 2026 protests and defendants in the so-called “Alikhani Square” case in Isfahan, were executed at dawn on Monday, October 5, at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan. The sentences were carried out despite human rights reports of torture, forced confessions, and restrictions on the defendants’ access to lawyers during the proceedings.
According to published reports, Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raeisi were arrested during the January protests and later sentenced to death in the “Alikhani Square” case in Isfahan. Their executions were carried out amid serious concerns about the methods of interrogation, the validity of the confessions, and the judicial proceedings in the case.
According to reports, some defendants in the case were subjected to physical and psychological pressure, beatings, and threats during interrogation. They were allegedly tortured into accepting the charges or making confessions against themselves and others. It has also been reported that some of the defendants’ confessions were broadcast by state-run media outlets.
Alireza Sepahi’s case was also marked by judicial irregularities. He had previously been on the verge of being executed, but suffered a heart attack before being transferred to the execution site and was taken to a hospital. After he returned to prison, his request for a retrial was accepted by the Supreme Court. However, according to his lawyer, the parallel court branch rejected the retrial request shortly afterward without holding a hearing.
The executions of these two men followed the execution of other defendants in the “Alikhani Square” case. Previously, Abolfazl Sepahi and Amirhossein Safari, two other defendants in the case, had also been executed.
The implementation of these sentences has once again drawn international attention to the use of the death penalty in cases related to protests and uprisings, as well as the Iranian regime’s failure to respect defendants’ right to a defense during judicial proceedings. Human rights organizations have expressed outrage over the lack of fair trials in proceedings involving political prisoners and the Iranian regime’s unrestrained use of the death penalty in Iran.