{"id":1422,"date":"2026-09-14T16:49:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T16:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/?p=1422"},"modified":"2026-09-14T16:49:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T16:49:24","slug":"irans-judiciary-in-the-service-of-executions-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/?p=1422","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Judiciary in the Service of Executions \u2013 Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ali Salehi: Prosecutor in Death Penalty Cases<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This series examines the policy of repression and the unprecedented rise in executions in Iran, particularly following the protests of January 2026. The first report showed that, during the protests, the head of the judiciary urged prosecutors and courts to show no leniency. On 7 January 2026, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje\u2019i said: \u201cI say to the courts, I say to the prosecutors\u2019 offices: this is no time for leniency towards these people.\u201d A week later, while visiting prisons in Tehran, he stressed that judicial action must be \u201cswift\u201d and \u201ctimely\u201d, and that a delay would not have \u201cthe same effect\u201d.\u00a0 Mizan News Agency, 7 January 2026; televised report on Mohseni-Eje\u2019i\u2019s prison visit, 14 January 2026<\/p>\n

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This public emphasis on speed and impact, alongside the increase in death sentences, makes it necessary to examine officials with the authority to prosecute and advance protesters\u2019 cases. Part Two focuses on Ali Salehi, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran, and examines his statements and actions in this context: how has the Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office contributed to the acceleration of cases that can result in execution?<\/p>\n

Ali Salehi\u2019s Judicial Career: From Shiraz to Tehran<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Before becoming Tehran\u2019s prosecutor, Ali Salehi headed the judiciary in Eqlid, led the Protection and Intelligence Office of the Fars provincial judiciary, served as prosecutor in Shiraz and headed the judiciary in Hormozgan province. In November 2021, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje\u2019i appointed him Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran.Mehr News Agency, 9 May 2019<\/a>; Judiciary Media Centre announcement, 29 November 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

As prosecutor of Shiraz, Salehi publicly announced the execution of a man in June 2016, saying he had been convicted of \u201cspreading corruption on earth\u201d (efsad-e fel-arz). His announcement demonstrates his public defence of the judicial process in that case; the death sentence was issued by a Revolutionary Court.Tasnim News Agency, 5 June 2016<\/a><\/p>\n

In response to public gatherings and labour protests, Salehi announced the arrest of organisers of a gathering at Pasargadae in late October 2016. He said they had \u201cchanted norm-breaking and anti-value slogans\u201d. In September 2018, during a lorry drivers\u2019 strike, he spoke of taking firm action against people he said were obstructing the transport of goods and raised the possibility of a charge of \u201cenmity against God\u201d (moharebeh), which can carry the death penalty.Zeitoons, 31 October 2016, citing Mizan<\/a>; Radio Zamaneh, 27 September 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

As head of the Hormozgan provincial judiciary, Salehi announced in August 2019 that a prisoner convicted in a drug-related case had been executed in Bandar Abbas Central Prison. Referring to the judgment of the Bandar Abbas Revolutionary Court, he said: \u201cThe sentence was carried out in Bandar Abbas Central Prison.\u201dIran Human Rights, 25 August 2019, citing Mizan<\/a><\/p>\n

These statements, particularly the suggestion that a strike could lead to a moharebeh charge, provide documented context for examining Salehi\u2019s conduct as Tehran\u2019s prosecutor. Following the 2022 protests, that charge was associated with death sentences in protesters\u2019 cases.<\/p>\n

Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office During the 2022 Protests<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Following the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini and the start of nationwide protests in 2022, the Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office, headed by Ali Salehi, began bringing cases against detainees. Salehi announced that indictments had been issued for 315 people and that indictments charging four people with moharebeh had also been issued.Shabestan News Agency, 24 October 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

He listed other charges, including \u201cassembly and collusion with the intention of acting against national security\u201d, \u201cpropaganda against the system\u201d and \u201cdisruption of public order\u201d. These figures and charges came from the Tehran prosecutor\u2019s own account of the work of the office he headed.Shabestan News Agency, 24 October 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

The use of moharebeh in protest cases was particularly significant because the charge can lead to execution. Salehi\u2019s statement shows that the Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office had included it in indictments during the first weeks of the protests. The announcement did not identify the four defendants.Shabestan News Agency, 24 October 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

At the time, international human rights organisations warned against capital charges being brought against protesters and raised concerns about the absence of fair trial safeguards. A few weeks later, the execution of Mohsen Shekari gave those concerns immediate and concrete force. His case shows how a moharebeh charge arising from the 2022 protests resulted in an execution.<\/p>\n

Mohsen Shekari: The First Protest-Related Execution in 2022<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mohsen Shekari was arrested during the protests in Tehran and sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court on a charge of moharebeh. According to the judiciary, he had blocked a road on Sattarkhan Street and wounded a member of the Basij with a bladed weapon. This was the authorities\u2019 account of the allegations; the court relied on it in its judgment, which was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court. Shekari was executed on 8 December 2022, the first execution that Iranian officials announced in connection with that year\u2019s protests.\u00a0 Reuters report on the judiciary\u2019s announcement;European External Action Service statement, 8 December 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

Only 18 days elapsed between the sentence on 20 November and its implementation on 8 December. Amnesty International described the trial and review proceedings as grossly unfair and warned that the speed of the process deprived Shekari of a meaningful opportunity to defend himself. The organisation also emphasised that the allegations against him did not involve intentional killing, whereas international standards restrict the death penalty to the most serious crimes involving intentional killing.Amnesty International, 8 December 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

After Shekari\u2019s execution, Amnesty International said that the Iranian authorities had acted on their public threats to expedite capital proceedings, and warned that other protesters under sentence of death were at risk. The European Union also condemned his execution and called on Iran to stop using forced confessions broadcast by the media as evidence and to respect defendants\u2019 due process rights.Amnesty International<\/a>; European External Action Service<\/a><\/p>\n

Shekari\u2019s case was heard within the Tehran judicial jurisdiction during Ali Salehi\u2019s tenure as prosecutor. Several weeks before the execution, Salehi had publicly announced indictments charging four protest detainees with moharebeh. What this case clearly establishes is that a protester was swiftly executed within the jurisdiction of the Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office at a time when its head had announced the use of a capital charge against detainees.Salehi\u2019s statement, 24 October 2022<\/a>; Amnesty International on the execution<\/a><\/p>\n

Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani Eslamloo<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani Eslamloo were arrested in 2022. In August\u2013September 2024, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Iman Afshari, sentenced them to death. In its announcement of their executions, Mizan News Agency identified \u201carmed rebellion\u201d (baghy) as the basis of their convictions. Mizan also said that the indictment included other charges, among them moharebeh, and that the Supreme Court had upheld the sentences.Mizan News Agency, 27 July 2025<\/a>; Iran Human Rights on the trial and sentences<\/a><\/p>\n

The two men were executed on 27 July 2025 in Ghezel Hesar Prison. Amnesty International reported that they and their families received no prior notice and that they were denied a final visit. Maryam Hassani, Mehdi Hassani\u2019s daughter, also said in a video message that the family had not known of her father\u2019s impending execution. Before their deaths, both men had participated in the prisoners\u2019 \u201cNo to Execution Tuesdays\u201d campaign and protested against capital punishment.Amnesty International, 28 July 2025<\/a>; Iran Human Rights, 27 July 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Amnesty International said the men had been denied access to a lawyer for nearly two years, that their trial had lasted only five minutes and that they had had no opportunity to defend themselves. It also reported that confessions extracted under duress, including after beatings and prolonged solitary confinement, were used against them; the men themselves had denied the authorities\u2019 allegations. These findings conflict with the judiciary\u2019s account that the \u201cfull process of criminal procedure\u201d had been followed. Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International\u2019s Deputy Regional Director, described the executions as an example of the use of capital punishment to suppress dissent and spread fear in society.Amnesty International, 28 July 2025<\/a>; Mizan News Agency, 27 July 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The indictment in this case was issued within the jurisdiction of the Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office during Ali Salehi\u2019s tenure; the judiciary itself recorded the issuance of an indictment in its official account. Mizan did not, however, identify the person who drafted or signed it, or the official who ordered the executions. The relevant judicial records would be needed to establish Salehi\u2019s personal role in those decisions.Mizan News Agency, 27 July 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Tehran Amid the Surge in Executions After the January 2026 Protests<\/strong><\/h4>\n

On 13 January 2026, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi said that cases involving allegations of moharebeh would be sent to court within \u201cthe next three or four days\u201d. He also called for protest-related cases to be addressed \u201cas soon as possible\u201d. At a time when detainees faced capital charges, this statement indicated that the Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office was moving towards expedited proceedings.\u00a0 Mehr News Agency, 13 January 2026<\/p>\n

The consequences of this approach can be seen in cases in Tehran: Amirhossein Hatami, Mohammadamin Biglari, Shahin Vahedparast Kalur and Ali Fahim, four people convicted in a case connected with protests in eastern Tehran, were executed within a five-day period in April 2026.HRANA, report on the eastern Tehran case<\/a><\/p>\n

In July 2026, Salehi also said that protest-related cases had been sent from the Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office to court and that some of the sentences across the set of cases he referred to, including final death sentences, had already been carried out.Tasnim News Agency, 14 July 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Women and Compulsory Hijab<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As Tehran\u2019s prosecutor, Ali Salehi has made enforcement of compulsory hijab part of the prosecutor\u2019s work. At a meeting on 19 November 2025, more than three years after the protests sparked by Mahsa (Jina) Amini\u2019s death, he said that alongside cultural measures, \u201crestrictive and enforcement measures are necessary\u201d. Salehi called for monitoring online activity and for law-enforcement officers to intervene in matters concerning clothing. He also referred to the rapid handling of related cases by the Special Prosecutor\u2019s Office for Moral Security. His statements show that the Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office continues to treat women\u2019s clothing as a matter for surveillance and judicial intervention, an approach that restricts women\u2019s freedom to choose what they wear and to participate freely in public life.Asr-e Iran, 19 November 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

International Responses to Ali Salehi\u2019s Conduct<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Ali Salehi has also been named in official sanctions decisions. On 8 December 2023, the United Kingdom sanctioned him among five individuals linked to the enforcement of compulsory hijab in Iran. Salehi is expressly named in the UK government\u2019s announcement.UK Government, 8 December 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

On 14 April 2025, the European Union added Salehi to its human rights sanctions list. The official decision states that, as Tehran\u2019s prosecutor, he participated in the prosecution of women who refused to comply with the compulsory hijab law, as well as students and protesters. The EU also cited his participation in the issuance and implementation of death sentences and the authorisation of torture of prisoners, and described him as \u201cresponsible for serious human rights violations in Iran\u201d. These are the EU\u2019s stated grounds for sanctioning Salehi.Official Journal of the European Union, 14 April 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Ali Salehi\u2019s record as Tehran\u2019s prosecutor cannot be assessed by his title alone. In the first weeks of the 2022 protests, he announced indictments against 315 people and said that four people had also been indicted on moharebeh charges, which can lead to execution. The execution of Mohsen Shekari and the other cases examined in this report reveal the human consequences of the use of capital punishment in the context of the suppression of protests. Following Shekari\u2019s execution, Amnesty International warned that the acceleration of capital proceedings placed other protesters\u2019 lives at risk.Shabestan News Agency, 24 October 2022<\/a>; Amnesty International, 8 December 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

Personal responsibility for each execution must be assessed on the basis of the records of the individual case. Nevertheless, Salehi\u2019s public statements about indictments and sentences, together with his position at the head of the Tehran Prosecutor\u2019s Office, make scrutiny of the institution\u2019s conduct and his role necessary. His inclusion on the UK and EU human rights sanctions lists shows that this conduct has also become the subject of international calls for accountability. \u201cIran\u2019s Judiciary in the Service of Executions\u201d will continue, examining the roles of other judicial officials in prosecution, sentencing and the implementation of death sentences.UK Government<\/a>; Official Journal of the European Union<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ali Salehi: Prosecutor in Death Penalty Cases This series examines the policy of repression and the unprecedented rise in executions in Iran, particularly following the protests of January 2026. The first report showed that, during the protests, the head of the judiciary urged prosecutors and courts to show no leniency. On 7 January 2026, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje\u2019i said: \u201cI say to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[33,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mensenrechten","category-nieuws"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Iran-HRM-judiciary-EN.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckmiran.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}