Protesters Mohammad Amin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast Hanged; 9 Political Prisoner Executions This Week
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 5 April 2026: State media have reported the executions of Mohammad Amin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, two protesters arrested on 8 January in Tehran. They were sentenced to death by “Death Judge” Salavati in a case marred by due process and fair trial violations. Amirhossein Hatami, another defendant in the case, was hanged on 2 April. The remaining co-defendants in this case, Ali Fahim Abolfazl, Salehi Siavashani, Shahab Zohdi and Yaser Rajaifar are at grave and imminent risk of execution.
Condemning the executions in the strongest terms, IHRNGO once again urges attention to the daily execution of political prisoners in Iran and calls for the situation of human rights to be prioritised in all diplomatic efforts.
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHRNGO said: "These two protesters were executed 87 days after their arrest. Their sentence was based on torture-tainted confessions and they were tried in grossly unfair proceedings. In the past seven days alone, at least nine political prisoners, including six MEK members and three protesters, have been executed.” He added: “These daily executions, carried out under the shadow of war, are part of a deliberate policy to terrorise the Iranian people and prevent new protests. The Islamic Republic’s main threat is not foreign bombs, it is the Iranian people demanding fundamental change.”
According to the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency, protesters Mohammad Amin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast Kolor were hanged at an unspecified location on 5 April 2026. Their executions were reportedly carried out in Ghezelhesar Prison. They were accused of “attacking a classified military site and, in addition to participating in its destruction and arson, attempted to gain access to the armory."
Mohammad Amin Bigleri, 19, and Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, 30, were arrested during the nationwide 8 January protests in Tehran. Ten days after arrest, on 18 January, state media aired the forced confessions of five of the defendants. In the video, they are referred to as “deceived youth” who were “directed by American-Zionist terrorist elements” to attack the IRGC base in Tehran. Ali Fahim, Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, Shahab Zohdi and Yaser Rajaifar are the other four defendants in the case. Authorities announced the execution of Amirhossein Hatami on 2 April.
Amirhossein Hatami and Mohammad Amin Biglari, pictured at their trial.
The seven defendants were tried by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by “Death Judge” Salavati on 7 February 2026. The next day, the court sentenced seven of the defendants to death on charges of moharebeh (enmity against god) and efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth).
According to an informed source, the defendants did not have access to lawyers and were represented by court-appointed lawyers at trial who later informed them of the sentences. The case was sent to Branch 9 of the Supreme Court, which according to the official report, rejected the appeal and upheld the sentence.
In an interview with Emtedad on 18 February, Hassan Aghakhani, a lawyer hired to represent Mohammad Amin Biglari said: “When we attended court, the head of the branch refused to grant us permission either to review the case file or to present a defence.”
The lawyer further stated: “The court-appointed lawyer informed the family that my client had confessed, yet no details of this alleged confession have been provided. The extent to which a confession allegedly made by a 19-year-old who grew up without parental support can be relied upon is highly questionable. It appears that the confession recorded in the case file is not attributable to my client, and even within this purported confession, references are made to economic hardship and financial distress.”
Amirhossein, Mohammad Amin and Shahin had reportedly been transferred to the pre-execution solitary confinement cells with Ali Fahim and Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani. Along with Shahab Zohdi and Yaser Rajaifar, they are at grave and imminent risk of execution.
Mohammad Amin and Shahin are the eighth and ninth political prisoners to be executed this week. Mohammad Taghavi and Shahrokh Daneshvarkar were secretly hanged on 30 March, and their co-defendants Pouya Ghobadi and Babak Alipour were secretly hanged on 31 March. Mohammad Amin and Shahin’s co-defendant, Amirhossein Hatami, was hanged on 2 April. Yesterday, on 4 April, Vahid Baniamerian and Abolhassan Montazer were secretly hanged.
Three other protesters Saleh Mohammadi, Saeed Davodi and Mehdi Ghasemi were hanged in Qom on 19 March. A dual-national named Kourosh Keyvani was also hanged for alleged espionage on 18 March.