HRANA – The death sentence of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a political prisoner, was carried out at dawn today, Sunday, May 3. He had previously been sentenced to death on the charge of “corruption on earth through participation in the intentional killing of a Basij member” during the 2022 protests.
According to Mizan, the Judiciary announced in a statement that after the completion of legal proceedings and confirmation of the verdict by the Supreme Court, the execution was carried out at dawn on Sunday, May 3. Mr. Abdollahzadeh had been sentenced to death on the charge of “corruption on earth” through “participation in the intentional killing” of a Basij member named Seyed Abbas Fatemiyeh during the 2022 protests.
The Judiciary’s media center stated that the defendant had confessed to being present at the protests and participating in an attack on security forces. According to the verdict, he and two others, wearing masks, allegedly killed the Basij officer by inflicting multiple blows. The court deemed the charge of “corruption on earth” proven and sentenced Mehrab Abdollahzadeh to death. The two other defendants, due to being under 18 years old, were sentenced to imprisonment and detention in a juvenile correctional facility.
However, relatives of the political prisoner had previously told Kurdpa News Agency: “Mr. Abdollahzadeh was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during detention to extract forced confessions. Review of CCTV footage shows that Mehrab was not present at the scene of the killing, and these recordings were in the possession of security forces. Furthermore, there was no evidence placing him at the time and location of the incident.”
His death sentence was upheld in December of 2025 by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court and was later formally communicated to him in prison. Abdollahzadeh had previously been tried by Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia on the charge of “corruption on earth” through “participation in the intentional killing” of a Basij member. In November 2023, the court sentenced him to death on that charge.
Mehrab (Mehran) Abdollahzadeh, a resident of Oshnavieh, was arrested during the 2022 protests and released on bail some time later. In another part of his case, he had been sentenced by Branch 101 of the Criminal Court Two of Oshnavieh County to nine months in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion.” He was eventually re-arrested and transferred to Urmia Prison.
In recent weeks, amid heightened security conditions linked to military tensions, the issuance and implementation of death sentences in political and security-related cases have accelerated significantly. In a recent comprehensive report, HRANA examined the situation of political and security prisoners, particularly those detained during the January 2026 protests, and documented this trend and the details of related cases.
