Iran is reportedly set to execute its first protester following mass arrests in connection with the widespread anti-regime demonstrations. The 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who was arrested on January 8 for
participating in the nationwide protests against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Karaj near Tehran, is scheduled to be hanged to death on Wednesday without getting a proper trial, according to human rights groups.
“His family was told that he had been sentenced to death and that the sentence is due to be carried out on 14 January,” Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported.
While around 2,000 people have been killed during the unrest, Soltani will be the first one to be hanged to death amid protests against the Iranian regime.
On January 11, Soltani’s family was informed that he had been sentenced to death, the report said, citing Hengaw Organisation. Following this, they were allowed only a brief 10-minute meet with him.
According to a report by Israel- and US-based news outlet Jfeed, Soltani’s case might mark the beginning of a series of fast-track executions aimed at curbing any further demonstrations against the regime.
Trump Warns Iran Against Killings
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has time and again warned Iran against the killing of the protesters and has stated that the country will have to face repercussions if it does not stop. Trump, on Tuesday, via a post on X, told the protesters in Iran that “help is on its way”.
Additionally, Trump also told CBS News that the United States would act if Iran began hanging protesters, after Tehran prosecutors said Iranian authorities would press capital charges of “moharebeh”, or “waging war against God”, against some suspects arrested over recent demonstrations.
“We will take very strong action if they do such a thing,” said Trump, who has repeatedly threatened Iran with military intervention. “When they start killing thousands of people — and now you’re telling me about hanging. We’ll see how that’s going to work out for them,” Trump said.
Iran Witnesses Massive Protests
Iran is currently one of the country’s biggest challenges to the clerical leadership since it came to power in the 1979 Islamic revolution. Several rights groups have accused the government of fatally shooting protesters and masking the scale of the crackdown with internet blackouts.
The protests erupted in early January due to economic distress, a fall in the value of the Iranian Rial. The demonstrations, which kicked off in Tehran’s bazaars, quickly spread to many other cities as shopkeepers, students, and ordinary citizens took to the streets and demanded relief from the economic distress.
