This article appeared on our partner site, Independent Persian Eight months after Donald Trump promised to protect protesters in Iran, the brutal killings continue. As more detainees from the national uprising of January 2026 are executed, information obtained by Independent Persian indicates that dozens more protesters are facing either final death sentences or charges such as “enmity against God” and “corruption on Earth”, which can carry the death penalty. Families of several prisoners say their loved ones have been denied access to lawyers of their choice and that, in some cases, confessions obtained under pressure and torture have become the primary evidence used to issue death sentences.
Human rights activists in Iran and several released political prisoners have also told Independent Persian that the names made public represent only a fraction of those sentenced to death. According to these sources, interrogators and judicial officials have promised families that if they keep the case out of the media, there may be a chance of securing a reduced sentence. In other cases, independent lawyers have not been permitted to participate, while families have remained silent out of fear of increased pressure on the prisoner.
The January anti-government demonstrations were met with the most severe crackdown in the Islamic Republic's history, during which thousands of protesters were reportedly killed by security forces. When the protests erupted, Trump warned authorities against firing on demonstrators and portrayed himself as a defender of the Iranian people. But despite pledging his help, Iranians have been left to cope with economic hardship, destroyed homes and unemployment as well as the impact of the war launched in February.
Earlier this week, Trump asked when the Iranian people would “rise up and fight”, in a sign of growing frustration over his inability to exit the conflict. One of the most recent cases is that of Mehrdad Takesh, 33, from Dizicheh, Isfahan, who has been sentenced to death twice on the charge of “enmity against God”. A source familiar with the matter told Independent Persian that Takesh was arrested on 14 January and was severely tortured in detention, causing both of his hands to be broken.
His family had no precise information about his whereabouts for four months, until he eventually contacted them from Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan. The source stressed that, apart from confessions obtained from Mehrdad Takesh under torture, there is no other evidence to substantiate the charges against him. His family fears his execution could be carried out without prior notice.
Prior to his arrest, Takesh ran a motorcycle repair shop in Dizicheh. Also in Isfahan, Sepehr Amirzadeh, a medical student in his early twenties, has been sentenced to death on the same charge. Security forces arrested Amirzadeh at his home on 15 January, and transferred him to Dastgerd Prison.
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