Iranian authorities have executed a 19-year-old man who was arrested during nationwide protests that began in late December and spread across the country in January, according to a US-based rights group.
Arvin Kheirkhahan was executed at about 4 a.m. on August 1 at Shahrud Prison in Iran's Semnan Province, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported, citing a source close to his family.
Kheirkhahan had been sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Shahrud Revolutionary Court on a charge of "enmity against God," according to HRANA. The sentence was upheld during the appeals process and by Iran’s Supreme Court, the group said.
Kheirkhahan was transferred to solitary confinement on July 29 ahead of his execution, according to Iran International.
His family gathered outside the prison on July 31 in an attempt to prevent the sentence from being carried out.
In a final conversation with his family, Kheirkhahan reportedly said: "Don't let them forget me. We stood up for the liberation of our homeland. Don't let the path we chose be silenced."
Don't let them forget me. We stood up for the liberation of our homeland.Arvin Kheirkhahan's final words to his family
HRANA said prison officials had not handed Kheirkhahan's body over to his relatives. His family was reportedly told to collect the body at 3 a.m. on August 2 and hold a burial ceremony at 5 a.m.
Kheirkhahan was 19 years old when he was executed, according to HRANA.
The group said there was no detailed information available about the circumstances of his arrest, the alleged acts cited as the basis for the charges, his interrogation, whether he had access to a lawyer of his own choosing, or the evidence used by the court to issue the death sentence.
Iran's judiciary has not officially commented on the reports of the execution.
Outcry Over Wave Of Executions
Kheirkhahan's execution comes amid a wider campaign of capital punishment against people arrested in connection with the protests, which began with demonstrations by shopkeepers and bazaar merchants in Tehran on December 28 and quickly spread to other parts of the country.
Students and other groups joined the protests, which became one of the largest challenges to Iran's clerical establishment in recent years.
Iranian authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown. The precise death toll from the unrest remains disputed, while rights groups have reported thousands of arrests.
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An Iranian Colonel Was Killed In January Protests. Now 16 People Face The Death Penalty.The UN-backed Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said on July 23 that Iranian authorities had carried out multiple executions in cases linked to the protests.
It said the judiciary had reported that 23 men had already been executed in relation to the protests since March. The mission also said that more than 60 people had been sentenced to death since December, based on credible reports.
The UN statement followed the July 19 executions of Erfan Esfandiari, reportedly 18 years old, and Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, a 23-year-old Afghan national, in a case involving protests in Isfahan.
The mission urged Iran to halt the executions of 10 others sentenced to death in the same case, saying the cases appeared to have been fast-tracked.
Amnesty International said on July 28 that at least 26 people have been "arbitrarily executed" for "offences in connection with the January 2026 protests, following torture-tainted grossly unfair trials by Revolutionary Courts.
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'Do Not Execute': Iranian Writers And Artists Join Outcry After Public Hangings In Isfahan"The Iranian authorities are unleashing a horrifying wave of executions and death sentences to punish and suppress dissent and project an image of strength and absolute control in the wake of the January popular uprising and amid ongoing attacks by US and Israeli forces," said Heba Morayef, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
"Given that thousands were arrested in the context of the January 2026 protests and relatives often refrain from publicly reporting death sentences fearing reprisals, Amnesty International believes that many more protesters may be at risk of the death penalty," Amnesty said in its statement.
More than 430 people, including at least 12 women have been executed in Iran so far in 2026.