Three Afghan nationals arrested during January protests sentenced to death in Isfahan

Hengaw – Thursday, July 23, 2026

Three Afghan nationals living in Isfahan who were arrested during the January 2026 protests have been sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in the city. The development follows the reported secret execution of another Afghan protest detainee earlier this week.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Afshar Shahahmadi, Iman Shafaei and Sadraddin Ahmadzadeh were recently sentenced to death by a branch of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court on charges of “participation in setting fire to a police station.”

Sources familiar with the case said the three men were arrested by Iranian security forces on January 10, 2026, on a street in Isfahan. They were held for 40 days at a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in complete incommunicado detention, without any contact with their families or the outside world.

Shafaei had a pre-existing respiratory illness before his arrest. His condition deteriorated into severe asthma due to prolonged interrogations and the denial of adequate medical care while in detention, and that he continues to be deprived of necessary treatment and medication.

Shahahmadi and Shafaei had been living in Isfahan with their families, while Ahmadzadeh had migrated to Iran for work.

On July 19, 2026, two defendants in the so-called “Alikhani Square case” were secretly executed at Isfahan Central Prison. One of those executed was 23-year-old Afghan national Gol Mohammad Mohammadi.