On Sunday, July 19, 2026, Mizan News Agency, the media outlet affiliated with Iran's judiciary, announced that the death sentences of Erfan Esfandiari and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi, two young protesters arrested during the January 2026 protests, were carried out in the early hours of the same day.
Last week, the Committee for Tracking the Situation of Detainees in Iran warned that the death sentences of 12 protesters in the so-called "Alikhani Square case" in Isfahan had been upheld by Iran's Supreme Court.
Among the 12 defendants—some of whom were sentenced to death two, three, or even four times—are several minors and one Afghan citizen. According to reports, Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi was an Afghan national.
The case stems from the events of January 7, 2026, near Alikhani Square in Isfahan, between the Malek Shahr and Kaveh districts, where Iranian authorities said that four members of the Basij and Special Forces—Hossein Ramezani, Mohammad Hemmati, Seyed Ali Khoshouei, and Valiollah Safari—were killed.
Following those incidents, 59 people were arrested in Isfahan, and authorities opened a large criminal case against them.
During the January 2026 protests, several areas across Isfahan Province, including Khaneh Isfahan, Malek Shahr, Shahin Shahr, Yazdanshahr, Baharestan, and Fooladshahr, witnessed widespread anti-government demonstrations and a violent security crackdown.
