Lucrezia Ciotti In Iran, the repression of protests and the use of capital punishment against demonstrators are once again under scrutiny. Ilya Ben-Rashid, 22, was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in Isfahan on charges of waging war against God. The case was denounced by the human rights organization Hrana, which reports growing concern over judicial proceedings related to anti-government demonstrations.
Iran: Alarm Grows Over Death Sentences Against Protesters
Ben-Rashid's case is part of the repression of the protests that began on December 28, 2025 , when traders and bazaar workers in Tehran began a mobilization that then extended, within a few days, to other cities and sections of the population.
According to Hrana's reconstruction, the response of the security forces provoked thousands of dead and wounded, while tens of thousands of people have been arrested or summoned by the security apparatus.
In the Crimson Winter report, dedicated to the first fifty days of the mobilization, the organization documents the evolution of events and the consequences of the repression.
Meanwhile, several human rights groups, including the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), Hrana, and Iran Human Rights (IHR), based in Norway, are denouncing the increasingly frequent use of the death penalty in cases related to politically motivated charges. Among the reported cases is that of Najmeh Amini, 23 years old, sentenced to death in Mashhad for a content published on social media and deemed blasphemous by the authorities. In an audio message released in recent days, the young woman expressed her hope of witnessing the liberation of her country.Remember my name. I may never be able to speak again.», he had declared in September from prison, adding that he wanted to see «a free and liberated Iran» before being executed.
Iran: 22-Year-Old Sentenced to Death for Protests: Charges Against Ilya Ben-Rashid
Ilya Ben-Rashid, 22, was sentenced to capital punishment by the Revolutionary Court in Isfahan, Iran, on charges of moharebeh, a term meaning "war against God» and which is among the crimes punishable by death in the Islamic Republic. The young man, a resident of Shahin Shahr, had been arrested on January 22, 2026, during the protests that have swept across the country, and is currently being held in Dastgerd prison in Isfahan. The sentence was announced by the human rights organization Hrana, which monitors the conditions of detainees and the judicial proceedings against protesters.
The verdict was pronounced by Branch 5 of the Revolutionary Court and communicated to the boy on Tuesday. According to the NGO, the death sentence is related to alleged participation in the destruction of public property . The case also included other penalties: three years, six months, and one day in prison for assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security, nine months and one day for propaganda against the regime, and a two-year travel ban. For this last charge, the sentence takes into account time already served in detention. The case had already been brought before the same branch in April 2026, while in May, the Shahin Shahr Criminal Court had sentenced him, in a separate case, to six months in prison and 20 lashes.
The two incidents have fueled concerns among international organizations about the treatment of prisoners and the use of the death penalty against individuals involved, in various capacities, in the protests.