Iran Executes Two Anti-Government Demonstrators
Iranian judicial authorities announced that two death row inmates, who were anti-government demonstrators, were executed by hanging on Wednesday (30/09) local time. Both individuals were sentenced to death on charges related to anti-government protests that peaked last January.
Reports from the Mizan Online website, managed by Iran’s judicial authorities and cited by AFP on Wednesday (30/09/2026), identified the two executed men, both male, as Ali Hemmati and Majid Nik-Andish.
According to Mizan Online, both were found guilty of involvement in “the riots last January which resulted in the deaths of four security personnel” in the city of Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran.
It was also stated that both individuals “caused severe damage to public facilities by burning shops, banks, buses, and so on, and even burning trees.”
“They were executed by hanging on Wednesday (30/09) morning, following the confirmation of their sentences by the Supreme Court,” Mizan Online stated in its report.
At the end of December last year, protest movements initially triggered by the high cost of living rapidly evolved into large-scale anti-government demonstrations, which reached their peak on 8-9 January this year.
Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths during the protests. Tehran has linked the violence during the demonstrations to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel.
Meanwhile, overseas-based NGOs have stated that Iranian security forces shot demonstrators.
US President Donald Trump threatened military intervention in Iran at that time. This threat preceded the joint attack by the US and Israel against Tehran on 28 February, which triggered war in the Middle East.
Since then, the number of arrests and executions in Iran has increased sharply, both related to the conflict and the previous anti-government protests.
According to data from the NGOs Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty, Iran has executed at least 1,639 people throughout 2025. This figure represents the highest number of executions in a single year since 1989.
Amnesty International noted that Iran ranks second globally for the highest number of executions, following China.