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The public execution of two young protesters in Isfahan on 28 July was far more than another death sentence. By erecting gallows in a public square, Iran’s rulers signaled the return of a strategy designed to intimidate an entire society. The executions marked a dangerous new phase in the regime’s response to growing domestic dissent, using the cover of regional conflict to intensify repression at home.
The public hanging of Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani (24) and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi (27) in Alikhani Square provoked spontaneous protests. Witnesses chanted “Dishonorable, dishonorable” as security forces responded with tear gas and chased demonstrators through nearby streets.
Their executions came only days after two other defendants in the same “Alikhani Square” case had been put to death. At least eight more young protesters, most in their late teens or early twenties, remain under sentence of death after proceedings reportedly marked by denial of legal representation and serious due process violations.
3-In #Brussels, supporters of the Iranian Resistance commemorated victims of the #1988Massacre and honored executed PMOI members & protesters.
The rally called for justice, accountability, & an end to executions in Iran – August 2, 2026#StopExecutionsInIran #FreeIran2026 pic.twitter.com/jESp9vVONw— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) August 4, 2026
Rather than moderating its conduct under external pressure, the regime has used the atmosphere of conflict to justify harsher repression. This carries an important political lesson. Military action may weaken the regime, but it cannot produce democratic transition. Nor will agreements that ignore domestic repression alter the regime’s logic of survival. Lasting stability depends on containing regional aggression while supporting democratic change from within Iran: pressing for an end to executions, preserving evidence of crimes, restoring communications during internet shutdowns and recognizing the Iranian people’s right to determine their own future through their organized democratic movement.
The scale of the execution campaign underlines this reality. Iran Human Rights Monitor has documented well over 900 executions during the documented periods of 2026, making this one of the deadliest years in recent memory. June alone accounted for at least 141 executions, the overwhelming majority carried out without official announcement. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission has continued to document death sentences following grossly unfair trials, including torture-tainted confessions, denial of access to lawyers and executions carried out without prior notice to families.
Political prisoners and alleged supporters of organized opposition movements face particular danger. Mehdi Khanaki, a young law graduate and member of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), was executed on 22 July.
While the political executions of recent months in Iran have deeply shocked and outraged the global public, world governments have remained silent.
Regrettably, for decades, the international community has shielded the Iranian regime and its leaders from accountability, granting… pic.twitter.com/SeY9zUYBp0— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) August 4, 2026
Arghavan Fallahi, a 25-year-old political prisoner accused of supporting the PMOI, remains under sentence of death after reportedly spending months in solitary confinement under physical and psychological pressure. In Ghezel Hesar Prison, five additional political prisoners—including Vahid Azizi, a civil engineer with a doctorate, and Mostafa Imani, a writer and designer—have recently faced severe sentences, death threats or mounting judicial pressure over alleged PMOI membership.
Yet the campaign of fear has also produced an extraordinary response. Approximately 1,500 death-row prisoners in Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison launched a hunger strike after six inmates were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for execution. The protest became one of the largest coordinated acts of prison resistance in recent years. After sixteen days, senior judiciary and prison officials were forced to negotiate, reportedly agreeing to suspend executions in the unit, return six prisoners from solitary confinement and review death-row cases. Although the prisoners remain cautious about whether these commitments will be honored, their collective action demonstrated that organized resistance continues even within Iran’s prison system.
Repression has simultaneously intensified inside other detention centers. In Evin Prison, guards raided Ward 7, assaulted prisoners and confiscated personal belongings. During a further raid on 1 August, five prisoners identified as PMOI supporters, together with children’s rights activist Afshin Heyratian, were beaten and transferred to unknown locations, raising serious concerns about their safety and treatment. Reports from Lakan Prison in Rasht likewise describe deteriorating conditions, corruption and increasing pressure on inmates, particularly political prisoners.
Simay Azadi Exclusive 🚨 PMOI Resistance Units Report 60 Operations Across Iran
On July 28, 2026, the group said its units targeted IRGC Basij bases and burned banners bearing officials’ images. It described the actions as a response to reported ties between Mojtaba Khamenei and… pic.twitter.com/E5gaWhKwMx
— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) July 29, 2026
Taken together, these developments reveal a regime that increasingly relies on executions, public intimidation and prison violence to maintain its grip on power. The return of public hangings, the sharp rise in executions, the targeting of political prisoners and the use of war as a pretext for repression all point to a deliberate strategy aimed at preventing another nationwide uprising.
The public executions in Isfahan were intended to convince Iranians that resistance is futile. Yet the simultaneous hunger strike by 1,500 death-row prisoners, the continued protests by prisoners’ families and the persistence of organized opposition suggest that fear alone is no longer sufficient to secure the regime’s authority. As Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, has argued, ending executions and making human rights central to international policy are essential if lasting stability is to be achieved. War cannot bring democracy, and diplomacy that overlooks systematic repression cannot bring peace; true change requires recognizing the Iranian people’s struggle to determine their own future through their organized democratic movement.