Ghaem (Arian) Hosseini, who was arrested in connection to the January 2026 protests in Isfahan, was executed on Thursday morning, August 20. His execution was based on national security-related charges and the account presented by the Islamic Republic’s judicial authorities in a case marred by serious reported violations of the right to a fair trial. Mizan News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, announced the execution, stating that Hosseini’s death sentence had been upheld by the Supreme Court. The location of the execution was not disclosed.The case, commonly referred to as the “Alikhani Square” case, stems from events on January 8, 2026, during protests in the Malek-Shahr area of Isfahan, in which four police officers died. Without providing evidence that could be independently verified, the Islamic Republic’s judiciary accused Hosseini of involvement in the events that night and of setting fire to property belonging to a charity. He was sentenced to death on charges including “waging war against God” (moharebeh), “corruption on Earth” (efsad-e fel-arz), acting against national security, and destruction of public property. Mizan also cited statements and confessions attributed to defendants in the case, while no independent information has been made available about the circumstances under which those statements were obtained or whether the defendants had effective access to legal counsel during interrogation.Hosseini is the fifth person to be executed in connection with the case. Erfan Esfandiari and Golmohammad Mohammadi were executed on July 19, while Abolfazl Sepahi and Amirhossein Safari were executed on July 28. Fifteen defendants were initially sentenced to death. According to published information, one of those sentences was overturned by a higher judicial authority, while the death sentences of the other 14 defendants were upheld. Several defendants in the case therefore remain at risk of execution.Reports concerning the proceedings indicate that defense lawyers faced restrictions on effective access to case files, were unable to obtain copies of court rulings, and that hearings were conducted by videoconference. Families were also reportedly kept uninformed about the details of the charges and evidence, while the court disregarded evidence presented by the defense. Under these circumstances, the charges used as the basis for the death sentences were not adjudicated through proceedings that met fundamental fair-trial guarantees.@iranhrdc#DigitalBlackoutIran#iran_strikes #iran_human_rights#iranmassacre#ghaem_hosseini#arian_hosseini