Iran executes three men convicted over January protest attacks in Karaj

Three executions in Karaj

Iranian state media reported on 8 November 2026 that three men had been executed after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences. The men, named in reports as Hassan Dioband, Hamid Kazemi and Reza Zanganeh, were convicted over armed attacks on public facilities in Karaj, a city 50 kilometres west of Tehran, during mass protests on 8 and 9 January. The judiciary's Mizan news agency says the men allegedly used firearms, hand grenades and Molotov cocktails, set public buildings alight and damaged an electricity substation, which cut power in some areas. According to Mizan, the three acted in a coordinated way on earlier instructions and were detained after an intelligence investigation. One Portuguese-language report spells the first name's surname as Divband.

Charges and co-defendants

Mizan alleged that the men carried out operations for Israel, the United States and hostile groups, and the judiciary presented this as the basis of the case. All property belonging to the executed men was confiscated. Eight other defendants in the same case received prison sentences of five to ten years. Greek reports citing the judiciary say Dioband was arrested on 11 January, and ten others accused of joining the riots under instructions were arrested afterwards. Details of the execution itself were not released, according to newsORF. The milestones reported for the case are set out below.

Death toll and the wider crackdown

Iranian authorities say 3,117 people died in the crackdown on protests that began over the economic situation and at one point demanded an end to the Islamic Republic. HRANA, a US-based opposition rights group, puts the toll above seven thousand, while Dutch broadcaster NOS cites an estimate of well over 7,000 killed. Notícias ao Minuto counts at least 39 people hanged over protest-related convictions, including these three, while newsORF counts at least 40 men executed in connection with the protests. Two men were executed earlier in November after being convicted of alleged involvement in the deaths of four police officers in Isfahan. Iran International, based in London, counts at least 70 executions between 7 January and 5 October, half of them linked to the January protests, and human rights groups believe the real numbers are higher.

Rights concerns and the Zanganeh case

Human Rights Watch said in a September report that Iranian proceedings are hasty, that confessions are sometimes obtained through torture and that executions are carried out in public to frighten dissidents. Amnesty International counted at least 2,159 executions in Iran in 2025, the highest annual figure recorded since 1981. The US-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center reported in August the first verdict against Zanganeh, who it says was 27, worked as a technician and mechanic for foreign vehicles, and was arrested at his workplace in early April. His family rejects the accusations, which they say stem from his job and earlier business trips abroad. The center says it has no verifiable information about the interrogations or the trial, and it is unclear what evidence the verdict relied on. An appeal to the Supreme Court did not succeed.