Iran, Jan 14 : Iran is bracing for intensified domestic and international backlash as authorities move towards executing a young protester, a step human rights groups say would mark the first execution directly linked to the ongoing anti government protests.
According to rights organisations cited by the New York Post, 26 year old Erfan Soltani is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday. Soltani was arrested during protests in Karaj last week and has since been charged with “waging war against God”, a capital offence under Iranian law.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFD) said Soltani was detained solely for participating in demonstrations and has been denied access to legal representation. The NUFD described his case as emblematic of the speed and severity with which Iran’s judiciary is handling protest-related arrests, warning that his “only crime was calling for freedom for Iran”.
The groups have appealed for urgent international intervention, cautioning that the execution could set a precedent for harsher measures against protesters nationwide.
Protests spread across Iran amid mass detentions
The impending execution comes as unrest continues to ripple across the country. The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that by the seventeenth day of protests, at least 614 demonstrations had taken place across 187 cities in all 31 provinces.
The agency said more than 18,400 people have been detained so far, while at least 2,403 protesters, including 12 children, have been killed. It also reported the deaths of 147 members of security forces and government supporters, highlighting the scale and intensity of the crackdown.
International reactions and mounting pressure
As tensions rise, exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi urged protesters to persist and appealed directly to Iran’s armed forces. In a video message shared on social media, he said the international community was beginning to act and warned that those responsible for violence would eventually face accountability.
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump said the situation in Iran was “on my mind” as reports of executions and mass arrests emerged.
“We’re going to look at the whole situation that’s going on in Iran. Really bad stuff,” Trump told reporters, adding that the scale of deaths was deeply concerning.
Rights groups warn that the fate of Erfan Soltani could become a defining moment for Iran’s protest movement and a critical test of how the global community responds to the country’s deepening human rights crisis.