Iranian protester to be executed tomorrow as regime steps up brutal crackdown, rights group claims

The Iranian regime is due to execute a demonstrator on Wednesday over his alleged involvement in the protests sweeping the nation, rights groups have claimed.

Erfan Soltani, a resident of Fardis, just west of Tehran, could become the first person to be sentenced to death for participating in protests that have rocked the country over the last two weeks.

Mr Soltani, 26, was arrested at his home just six days ago and rushed through the justice system to face the death penalty on Wednesday as the regime steps up its brutal crackdown on dissent, according to the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights, an independent NGO based in Norway.

His family were told of the decision only on Monday and has been refused information about his charges or judicial proceedings, the organisation said.

Arina Moradi, a member of Hengaw, told the Daily Mail this afternoon that Erfan 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, the owner of a clothes shop from Fardis, will only be allowed 10 minutes with his family before he is hanged, the newspaper reported.

His sister, who is a lawyer, has also been blocked from accessing the case file, a source close to the family told the rights group.

Iran Human Rights (IHR), another independent rights organisation based in Oslo, said that the regime was seeking to deal with the protesters “swiftly” and “severely”, using special branches of the country’s Revolutionary Courts.

They quoted a source close to the family in saying that Mr Soltani did not have access to a lawyer and, as far as the family is aware, no trial was granted to hear his case. It is not clear what the charges against him are, they said.

“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.

“The international community has a duty to protect civilian protesters against mass killing.”

An Iranian official said that as many as 2,000 people have been killed during demonstrations over the last two weeks as the regime ramps up efforts to crush the protests.

The US-based organisation HRANA said in its report on Monday afternoon that at least 646 people have been killed over 16 days of protest, including 505 protesters. It reported that 133 military and law enforcement personnel had also been killed.

The ongoing internet blackout limiting information in and out of the country has made it difficult to assess and verify casualty reports, it noted.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said, “we are now witnessing the final days and weeks” of the present government.

“When a regime can only maintain power through violence, then it is effectively at its end. The population is now rising up against this regime,” he said on Tuesday.

The country is facing mounting international backlash with US president Donald Trump threatening to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Iran’s trading partners, however the policy is yet to be approved by the Supreme Court.