Who was Erfan Kiani and why was he executed?: Erfan Kiani was an Iranian protester arrested in Isfahan in late December 2025 during anti-war demonstrations. He was charged with moharebeh (waging war against God) and executed on 25 April 2026 — the eighth political prisoner executed since the Iran war began, according to Hengaw.Source: event
How many political prisoners has Iran executed since the war started?: Hengaw, the Kurdish human rights group, documented eight political prisoner executions since the Iran-Israel war began, with Erfan Kiani's hanging on 25 April 2026 as the eighth. The pace of executions has accelerated under wartime conditions.Source: Hengaw, 25 April 2026
Was Erfan Kiani convicted of a violent act?: Iranian authorities charged Kiani with moharebeh, creating insecurity, and inciting violent acts. Rights organisations dispute that the charges reflect actual violent conduct, arguing that moharebeh is routinely applied to demonstrators and dissenters without evidence of violence. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence.Source: Hengaw, 25 April 2026; Kurdistan Human Rights Network
Where was Erfan Kiani arrested?: Kiani was arrested during anti-war protests in Isfahan, Iran, in late December 2025 and January 2026. The Isfahan protests were part of a broader movement against the Iran-Israel war and its economic consequences.Source: Hengaw, 25 April 2026
How many political prisoners has Iran executed since the 2026 war began?: At least eight political prisoners have been executed since the war began on 28 February 2026, according to Hengaw. Kiani was the eighth; the Kurdish rights group also flagged three Ali Fahim co-defendants for imminent execution.Source: Hengaw
What is moharebeh and how is it used against protesters in Iran?: moharebeh means 'waging war against God' in Iranian law and carries a mandatory death penalty. It is routinely applied to protesters and dissidents, allowing accelerated judicial processing. Kiani's case went from arrest to Supreme Court confirmation in months.Source: Lowdown

Background

Erfan Kiani was executed in the early hours of 25 April 2026, becoming the eighth political prisoner executed since the start of the Iran war, according to the Kurdish human rights group Hengaw. Kiani was arrested during anti-war protests in Isfahan in late December 2025 and January 2026 and charged with moharebeh ('waging war against God'), creating insecurity, and inciting violent acts — charges routinely applied to protesters and dissidents. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence; Iranian authorities did not disclose the execution location.

Kiani's execution follows a pattern of accelerated judicial processing under wartime conditions. The charges were laid within weeks of his arrest, and the Supreme Court's confirmation came before a full defence could be mounted, according to rights groups. The Isfahan protests from which he was arrested were part of a broader movement against the war and its economic consequences. Hengaw had flagged three further imminent executions — the Ali Fahim co-defendants — on 24 April, the day before Kiani was hanged.

Human rights organisations have documented eight wartime political prisoner executions in Iran by 25 April 2026. The moharebeh charge carries a mandatory death penalty under Iranian law and is deployed as a counterinsurgency mechanism during periods of civil unrest. Iran's domestic security apparatus has run on its own cadence through every break in the diplomatic track since the war began, executing political prisoners while diplomatic channels opened and closed.

Source Material

Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights

How the World Sees Them

Iran

Iranian authorities frame the execution as a legitimate judicial outcome for a convicted security threat; the Supreme Court's confirmation gives it formal legal standing under Iranian law.

Western governments

Wartime executions of protesters have drawn condemnation from European governments, though no specific sanctions were imposed for individual cases as of late April 2026.

International human rights

Rights groups including Hengaw and the Kurdistan Human Rights Network document the execution as the eighth in a pattern of accelerated wartime processing against anti-war protesters.