HRANA: Iran hands death sentences to four more January protesters

A court in Iran has sentenced four people to death on charges of cooperating with the United States and “hostile groups,” according to the human rights monitor HRANA.

The defendants—Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl, Bita Hemmati, Behrouz Zamaninejad and Kourosh Zamaninejad—were arrested during widespread protests in early January and convicted of “operational action for the hostile government of the United States and hostile groups,” Iranian media reports.

According to HRANA, the court also imposed additional prison terms and financial penalties on the defendants. Each was sentenced to five years in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security” and had all their assets confiscated as a supplementary punishment.

Iran witnessed one of its largest anti-government uprisings in decades during late December 2025 and early January 2026. The protests began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar as merchants struck against the dramatic collapse of the Iranian rial, soaring inflation, and severe economic hardship. What started as economic discontent quickly evolved into widespread political protests demanding an end to the Islamic Republic and regime change.

By January 8, demonstrations had spread to hundreds of cities across all 31 provinces, with massive crowds chanting against the government. Exiled opposition figures, including Reza Pahlavi, called for unity, further fueling participation.

Authorities responded with extreme force, using live ammunition and imposing nationwide internet blackouts. The crackdown resulted in thousands of deaths, mass arrests, and injuries — one of the deadliest suppressions in the history of the Islamic Republic.

By Aghakazim Guliyev