Iran executes January protest detainees Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saeedi

Hengaw – Tuesday, June 16, 2026

The Iranian Judiciary has executed Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saeedi, two men arrested in connection with the January protests, amid a continuing surge in political executions and the authorities’ ongoing campaign of reprisals against protesters.

According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the executions of Javad Zamani and Abolfazl Saeedi were carried out in the early hours of Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at Shahroud Central Prison in Semnan Province. The executions were announced by Mizan News Agency, the official media outlet of the Iranian Judiciary.

The two men were arrested by government forces in Shahroud during the January protests and were later transferred to the city's prison after undergoing intensive interrogations in security detention facilities.

In a joint case, the Iranian Judiciary charged the two protesters with “waging war against God” (moharebeh), “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz), “use of weapons,” “destruction of public property,” and “acting against internal security.” They were subsequently sentenced to death by a branch of the Revolutionary Court.

Despite official claims that the case proceeded through the legal process, such death sentences are routinely issued and carried out within a deeply opaque judicial system marked by closed-door proceedings, denial of access to independent legal counsel, and reliance on forced confessions extracted under severe physical and psychological torture.