Iran’s regime is once again showing the world how fast it can turn protest cases into death sentences, and a new scaffold in Isfahan has sharpened fears that more executions are near.
Quick Take
- An iron scaffold was erected in Isfahan’s Alikhani Square, where protesters were arrested during the January unrest.
- Twelve defendants in the Isfahan protest case were sentenced to death, and two were executed on July 19.
- Rights groups say more than 70 protesters in Isfahan have faced death sentences or execution risk.
- The United Nations fact-finding mission has urged Iran to stop all executions and impose a moratorium on the death penalty.
Scaffold in Isfahan Raises Alarm
An iron scaffold erected Monday in central Isfahan has fueled fears that Iranian authorities are preparing more public hangings tied to the January protests. Iran International reported that the structure stood in Alikhani Square, where the unrest began on January 8, and that families had already reported final prison visits. The report also said two defendants in the case, Golmohammad Mohammadi and Erfan Esfandiari, were executed on July 19.
The timing matters because the same case has already moved through Iran’s harsh legal pipeline. Iran International said the Supreme Court upheld death sentences for 12 protesters and sent the case to the sentence-enforcement branch of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court. Iran Wire reported that more than 70 protesters linked to the January 2026 demonstrations had been sentenced to death in Isfahan Central Prison, with some moved into solitary confinement and quarantine units ahead of possible execution.
Pattern of Repression in Isfahan
Isfahan is not an isolated case. Reuters reported in 2023 that Iran executed three men over recent protests in Isfahan after the judiciary said they were tied to killings during anti-government unrest. More recent reporting from rights groups says Iran has kept up a rapid pace of executions, including at least 22 political prisoners in a six-week stretch this spring, with ten linked to the January 2026 protests.
That wider pattern helps explain why the scaffold drew such fast public attention. Amnesty International said Iranian authorities executed more than 1,000 people in 2025, the highest yearly total it had recorded in at least 15 years. Human Rights Watch separately described a major execution surge in Iran in May 2025, which helps show why many observers see new execution equipment as a warning sign rather than a routine prison detail.
Pressure Grows From Rights Groups
The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran called on Tehran to immediately halt all executions, including those tied to the protests, and to establish a moratorium on the death penalty. Iran Human Rights Monitoring also warned that the defendants in the Isfahan case faced imminent execution after the court process moved forward, and it said the regime had already carried out two executions in the same case.
🚨Don’t stop talking about Iran.
A devastating night unfolded in Iran as brave Iranians once again took to the streets to protest the imminent public executions in Isfahan.Despite desperate efforts by protesters to stop the executions, the Islamic Republic terrorist regime… pic.twitter.com/dhcga8lRzp
— ✡︎𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬🇮🇷🇮🇱 (@IranNewsAgency0) July 28, 2026
For conservative readers, the issue is larger than one scaffold. A state that hides execution scheduling, uses death sentences against protesters, and keeps expanding the machinery of repression is a state that treats human life and due process as disposable. The public record now shows a clear chain in Isfahan: protest arrests, death sentences, Supreme Court review, prison transfers, and executions.
Sources:
pjmedia.com, iranintl.com, iranwire.com, iranhumanrights.org, amnesty.org, hrw.org, iranfocus.com
