Iran executes three men over the January protests, the judiciary says — a rights group names Karaj prison
Iran's judiciary said it executed three men on Sunday after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences for carrying out operations on behalf of Israel and the United States during the anti-government protests in January. The judiciary named them as Hassan Dioband, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh and accused them of using firearms, grenades and Molotov cocktails, setting fire to public facilities and damaging an electricity substation in Karaj, west of Tehran. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said the three were hanged at dawn at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, in secret, and put the number of political and religious prisoners executed in Iran this year at 79, including 40 sentenced over the January protests. The January protests began over the cost of living, peaked on 8 and 9 January, and were put down with a death toll the authorities put at more than 3,000.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
- 3Checking claims2 of 4 claims checked
- 4Human gateStill to come
2 of 4 claims checked so far · step 3 of 4: Checking claims
Key points
- Iran's judiciary announced the executions of Hassan Dioband, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh on Sunday, after the Supreme Court upheld their sentences.
- The convictions rest on the judiciary's accusation that the men acted for Israel and the US during the January protests in Karaj — an accusation, carried here as the judiciary's wording.
- Hengaw says the hangings were carried out in secret at Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj, and counts 40 January-protest death sentences among 79 political and religious executions this year.
- The January protests peaked on 8–9 January; the authorities say more than 3,000 people died in the unrest.
What happened
The January protests were the biggest challenge to Iran's government in years: they began in December as anger over the cost of living, spread nationwide, and were put down in January. Death sentences over the protests have been carried out in a series ever since, most of them turning on accusations of collaboration with Israel or the United States.
Karaj, the city west of Tehran where the judiciary says the three men's alleged attacks took place, is also where Hengaw says they were tried and hanged — at Ghezel Hesar, one of Iran's largest prisons.
Claim by claim
Why this label: The announcement is the judiciary's own, via Mizan, reported by Reuters. The foreign-collaboration wording is the judiciary's charge, carried in its own words — an accusation the men were convicted on, not an independently established link.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Every detail in this claim is the judiciary's account of its own case, via Reuters; the evidence behind the convictions has not been published or independently examined in the reports read.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Hengaw is a rights organisation documenting executions from its own sources; its prison, secrecy and case details go beyond the judiciary's announcement and are labelled accordingly.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Show all claims (1 more)
Why this label: The execution counts are Hengaw's documented figures, not official statistics. The more-than-3,000 unrest toll and the orchestration blame are the Iranian authorities' own figures and position, as reported with the judiciary's announcements.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the judiciary announced the three executions and the Supreme Court's upholding of the sentences — its own statement, via Mizan and Reuters.
- The judiciary's charges and its account of the Karaj attacks, as its account.
What we don't know yet
- Independent confirmation of the prison, the secrecy and the case details Hengaw reports — the judiciary's announcement did not name the prison.
- The evidence behind the convictions — none has been published or independently examined in the reports read.
- Any reaction from the men's families or lawyers — none was reported.
Show more (1)
- Whether more January-protest death sentences are scheduled — none had been announced in the reports read.
Why it matters
Each announced execution over the January protests tests the same question: whether the death sentences are draining the protest movement's defiance or deepening it. The gap between the judiciary's account — foreign-directed armed operations — and the rights groups' account — secret hangings of protesters — is exactly the gap this page keeps labelled.
Background
Show the background timeline (4)
Protests begin in Iran over the cost of living and become a nationwide challenge to the government.
The protests peak. The authorities say more than 3,000 people were killed in the unrest.
A series of executions is carried out over the protests, many turning on accusations of links to Israel and the US.
The judiciary announces the executions of Dioband, Kazemi and Zanganeh; Hengaw counts 79 political and religious executions this year.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — checking continues, and claims are labelled as reporting develops. Basis: the judiciary's announcement and Hengaw's documentation.