26-Year-old Iranian protester faces execution for 'waging war against God'

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The situation in Iran is becoming increasingly serious amid the ongoing anti-government protests. More than 500 people have been reported dead so far during the nationwide anti-Ayatollah Ali Khamenei protests, while more than 10,000 protesters have been detained. Meanwhile, the Iranian administration has begun preparations to implement the death penalty for the first time in a case related to the protests.

According to human rights organizations and media reports, 26-year-old Erfan Soltani could soon be executed. Soltani is accused of playing an active role in anti-Khamenei protests. He is a resident of the Fardis neighborhood of Karaj, a city near Tehran, and was arrested on January 8th.

An attempt to send a message of fear?

Human rights organizations say this would be the first time a protester has been executed during the current movement. Previous reports of executions by shooting have surfaced to quell anti-government activities. According to the Israel and US-based news portal Jfeed, Erfan Soltani's case could signal a more stringent crackdown in the future, designed to deter ordinary people from taking to the streets against the government.

Hengaw, a Kurdish human rights organization registered in Norway, has questioned the transparency of the judicial process in this entire case and called it a serious violation of international human rights standards.

According to reports, since his arrest, Erfan Soltani has been denied access to an independent lawyer or the opportunity to present his defense in court. His family has also been kept incommunicado for a considerable period, unable to identify which security agency had detained him .

Hengaw reported that Soltani's family was informed of his death sentence on January 11th. They were then allowed to meet him for only 10 minutes. According to a source close to the family, authorities have made it clear that the verdict is final and will be implemented at the appointed time.

Soltani's sister, a lawyer by profession, reportedly tried to challenge the sentence legally, but has not yet been allowed to see the case file or represent her brother.

From economic crisis to opposition to the regime, Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur Mario Nofal claimed on social media platform X that around 2,000 people have died so far in the anti-Khamenei protests, although these figures could not be independently confirmed.

Protests against rising inflation, unemployment, and the economic crisis began in Iran on December 28th. Initially confined to Tehran's markets, the movement soon spread to other cities across the country. Shopkeepers, students, and ordinary citizens took to the streets, intensifying their demands for political change.

Now this movement is being considered the biggest nationwide mass movement against the Iranian government and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the last several years, due to which political instability in the country is increasing and concern is also increasing at the international level.