Iran executes three men detained during January protests

Iran’s judiciary announced on Thursday (March 19, 2026) the execution of three men detained in January’s nationwide protests, the first such sentences known to have been carried out.

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Iran’s Mizan news agency reported the executions. Iran typically carries out the death penalty with hangings.

Mizan identified those executed as Mehdi Ghasemi, Saleh Mohammadi and Saeed Davvodi.

It alleged the three men had stabbed two police officers to death in Qom, some 130 kilometres south of the capital, Tehran, during the protests.

Iran’s judiciary has been threatening to carry out executions of those arrested in the protests.

Iran put down the demonstrations with intense violence that killed thousands of people and saw tens of thousands of others detained.

Activists have warned Iran could carry out a wave of mass executions of those detained in the protests.

Iran has long been accused by rights campaigners of extracting coerced confessions from detainees and not allowing them to fully defend themselves in court.