Abolqasem Salavati
Judge presiding over Tehran's Revolutionary Court Branch 15, sanctioned by Western governments for death-penalty and political rulings.
Last refreshed: 5 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why has one Tehran judge personally drawn both EU and US sanctions?
Timeline for Abolqasem Salavati
Presided over Branch 15's death sentence ruling
Iran Conflict 2026: Monitors report a Tehran death sentenceWho is Abolqasem Salavati?
Why was Abolqasem Salavati sanctioned by the EU and US?
What cases has Judge Salavati presided over?
Background
Judge Abolqasem Salavati, head of Branch 15 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court, presided over the 1 July death sentence handed to Arghavan Fallahi, a 25-year-old woman linked to the PMOI/MEK; her lawyer received six years and a travel ban in the same case.
Born on 16 July 1967, Salavati has headed Branch 15 for well over a decade, delivering harsh sentences, including numerous death sentences, to journalists, activists and protesters. Rights groups trace his record back to the show trials that followed Iran's 2009 post-election unrest, and opposition and human rights monitors have nicknamed him the "Judge of Death."
He is sanctioned personally rather than the court he serves in: the EU imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on him in April 2011 over the 2009 trials, and the US Treasury sanctioned him in December 2019 under Executive Order 13846 for denying due process in politically motivated cases.