Protest detainee Fathollah Avary executed without prior notice in Hamedan Central Prison

Hengaw – Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Iranian authorities have secretly executed Fathollah Avary, a prisoner arrested during the January 2026 protests, in Hamedan Central Prison.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Avary was executed at dawn on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in Hamedan Central Prison. The execution was carried out without prior notification to his family, who were also denied a final visit.

The Iranian judiciary had sentenced Avary to death on charges of moharebeh (“waging war against God”), accusing him of killing a member of the security forces identified as Mohammad Javad Bakhshian during protests in Hamedan on January 8, 2026.

In a statement published Wednesday, Mizan News Agency, the official media outlet of Iran’s judiciary, claimed that investigators had recovered the alleged murder weapon and clothing matching surveillance footage during a search of Avary’s residence. The report also claimed that Avary had confessed to the charges during interrogation.

Hengaw has repeatedly raised concerns about the handling of political and protest-related cases in Iran, citing reports of torture and coercion used to extract confessions in security detention centers, along with the systematic denial of access to independent legal counsel and other fair trial guarantees.

Iranian authorities frequently rely on broad national security charges and inflammatory rhetoric to prosecute protesters and impose severe punishments, including the death penalty, in cases linked to public demonstrations.

The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights strongly condemns the execution of individuals detained in connection with protests and considers the use of the death penalty in such cases a violation of the right to life and a tool of political repression.