Ghaem Hosseini, Second Afghan National Hanged in Connection with January Protests

According to the judiciary Mizan News Agency, Ghaem (Arian) Hosseini was hanged at an undisclosed location on 20 August 2026. IHRNGO has established the location of his execution as Isfahan (Dastgerd) Central Prison where the defendants in the case were detained. Ghaem was the cousin of executed protester, Gol Mohammad Mohammadi.

He was sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh (enmity against God) by drawing a weapon and creating terror and insecurity, efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth) through actions against national security causing severe disruption of public order and widespread insecurity, destruction of public property with intent to disrupt public order and security, and collusion to act against national security.

Ghaem was accused of carrying a cold weapon and participating in the 8 January protests at Alikhani Square in Isfahan, where he allegedly kicked the bodies of police officers who had been attacked. Authorities further accused him of taking measures to conceal his identity to evade detection, as well as participating in the arson and destruction of a local charity by removing and burning donated items.

According to the Mizan report, the court relied on self-incriminating statements made during interrogation, testimonies from co-defendants, investigative reports compiled by the Police Intelligence and Security Organisation and official crime scene reconstructions to convict him.

On 23 January, state media broadcast the torture-tainted confessions of the defendants, with their faces blurred and names changed to conceal their identities. The forced confessions were used as part of a propaganda video titled “Shock Documentary: The Events of Dey 1404 (December 2025–January 2026) in Isfahan.” 

IHRNGO previously reported that Ghaem Hosseini was originally scheduled to be publicly hanged along with Alireza Sepahi Badjani, Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi on 28 July. However, Ghaem’s execution was halted for unknown reasons and Alireza Sepahi Badjani had to be rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack shortly before the public hanging. 

IHRNGO has documented the systemic use of torture and the violations of due process and fair trial rights in death penalty cases. On 16 May, the organisation warned that the Islamic Republic's judiciary is actively weaponising state-approved lawyers to facilitate and expedite the execution of arrested protesters. Families of death row prisoners are also routinely silenced through threats and coercion to prevent them from speaking out about their loved ones’ cases.

At least 28 protesters have been executed in connection to the December 2025–January 2026 protests since 19 March, listed here in order of execution: Saleh Mohammadi, Saeed Davodi, Mehdi Ghasemi, Amirhossein Hatami, Mohammad Amin Biglari, Shahin Vahedparast Kolor, Ali Fahim, Amir Ali Mir Jafari, Erfan Kiani, Sasan Azadvar, Ebrahim Dolatabadnejad, Mehdi Rasouli, Mohammadreza Miri, Mohammad Abbasi, Abbas Akbari Feizabadi, Ashkan Maleki, Mehrdad Mohammadinia, Fathollah Avari, Javad Zamani, Abolfazl Saedi, Mohammad Amini Dehaghani, Erfan Esfandiari, Gol Mohammad Mohammadi, Mehdi Khanaki, Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani, Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi and Shahram Sadeghi.

Mehrab Abdollahzadeh and Aref Khoshkar, two “Woman, Life, Freedom” protesters, were also executed during this period.