How Erfan Soltani’s fate is linked to Iran protests after 26 year-old is spared execution

The Iranian man facing execution for protesting the government will not be killed in a last-minute U-turn, the country’s judiciary said on Thursday just as Donald Trump appears to have climbed down from his threat of imminent strikes.

The plight of Erfan Soltani, 26, captured global attention after rights groups said he was due to be killed on Wednesday after participating in the major demonstrations sweeping the nation.

But authorities have since said he was charged with “colluding against the country’s internal security and propaganda activities against the regime”, but claimed he would not face death if the charges are confirmed by a court.

The turnaround followed an 11th-hour vow from Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi that the regime would not hang any protesters, as the US appeared to position its forces in the Middle East for conflict.

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“There is no plan for hanging,” Mr Araghchi told the US channel Fox News on Wednesday. “Hanging is out of the question.”

Trump did not rule out future action on Wednesday, but paused as he said Tehran was reining in its brutal crackdown on protesters. “We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping ... There’s no plan for executions,” he said.

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Mr Soltani is a resident of Fardis, a neighbourhood just west of Tehran, and owns a clothes shop.

The Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights, an independent NGO based in Norway, reported that he was arrested at his home, west of Tehran, last Thursday, 8 January. They said the charges against him were unclear, but that he was ‘arrested in connection with the ongoing protests’.

Mr Soltani was deprived of his ‘most basic rights’, including access to legal counsel and the right to a defence, the rights group said. It said his sister, a lawyer, was also denied access to the case file.

The 26-year-old was most recently being held at the notorious Ghezel Hesar prison, Iran’s largest state facility, infamous for reports of torture, abuse and catastrophic hygiene conditions, according to others rights groups.

He was among 18,470 people arrested in connection to the protests, according to the US-based HRANA rights group, which says accurate reporting has been hampered by the ongoing internet blackouts.

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Mr Soltani was accused of participating in protests in Fardis.

The arresting authority has not been officially identified, and his family were notified of his death sentence just four days after his arrest.

They were told that the death sentence was final and would be carried out on Wednesday, Hengaw said, citing a source close to his loved ones.

According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Society, hangings are common in Iranian prisons.

Last year, it estimated that the number of executions in Iran had doubled since 2024, with just under 1,000 executions verified to have taken place.

Activists say that the rate of executions increases when the regime feels under threat. IHR figures suggest 99 per cent of those executed have been for murder or drug offences.

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Mr Soltani’s family were told about his execution on Monday and were refused information about his charges or judicial proceedings, Hengaw said.

Arina Moradi, a member of the organisation, said on Tuesday that Mr Soltani’s family were “shocked” and “despairing” at the situation.

“He was detained last Thursday, and there was no information about him for days before authorities called the family and said they had arrested their son and he will be executed on Wednesday - meaning tomorrow.”

Mr Soltani was only due to be allowed 10 minutes with his family before his death, the newspaper reported.

Despite the apparent reprieve, concerns remain that the execution may only have been postponed rather than cancelled altogether.

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US-based ‌Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified ‍the ​deaths of ‍2,615 people during ‍the protests.

Experts have said that this makes it one of - if not the - deadliest repressions of a popular uprising in Iran in the country’s recent history.

Among the dead are 2,435 protesters and 153 government-affiliated individuals, HRANA said. Thirteen children and 14 non-protesting civilians were also included in the tally, HRANA said.

The group also estimated that 18,470 individuals have been arrested, 105 forced confessions broadcast, and 2,054 severe injuries reported, as of Wednesday, 14 January.

“The widespread killing of civilian protesters in recent days by the Islamic Republic is reminiscent of the regime’s crimes in the 1980s, which have been recognised as crimes against humanity,” IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.