Amnesty International said in a statement that Saleh Mohammadi, an 18-year-old Iranian wrestler, has been sentenced to death on charges related to the killing of a government agent during the January 2026 protests in Qom. The organization stressed that the verdict was based on confessions extracted under severe torture and that the Revolutionary Court in Qom failed to meet even the minimum standards of a fair trial, citing denial of access to an independent lawyer, the inability to challenge or examine material evidence, and reliance on vague, anonymous testimonies.
Amnesty International described the case as a clear example of the systematic crackdown that followed the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement that began in 2022, noting that since then more than 1,000 people have been executed and many young protesters have faced expedited death sentences under retributive justice provisions.
The organization called for the immediate quashing of the death sentence, a full and independent review of the case, and the unconditional release of Saleh Mohammadi.
The use of the death penalty in Iran has long been one of the most contentious human rights issues. The Islamic Republic continues to rank among the world’s top executioners, applying capital punishment not only for crimes such as murder but also as a tool to suppress dissent, often under broadly defined and vaguely worded charges such as “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth.”
Human rights organizations consistently report serious due-process violations in many cases, including restricted access to legal counsel, summary trials, reliance on forced confessions, and a lack of transparency in official statistics.
Moreover, executions are sometimes carried out without prior notice to families, and in some cases authorities refuse to disclose burial sites, imposing additional psychological suffering on relatives of those executed.
