Who is Shahab Zahdi and why is he facing execution in Iran?: Shahab Zahdi is one of three defendants in the Ali Fahim case held in solitary confinement at Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj, facing imminent execution. He is a political prisoner from the protest-era arrests.Source: https://hengaw.net/en
Why are Shahab Zahdi, Abolfazl Salehi Siavoshani, and Yaser Rajaeifar facing execution in Iran?: All three are co-defendants in the Ali Fahim case, protest-era political prisoners held in solitary confinement at Ghezel Hesar prison without family contact. Hengaw reported on 24 April 2026 that their executions are imminent.Source: https://hengaw.net/en
Has Iran executed anyone from the Ali Fahim case?: Yes. Ali Fahim was executed at Ghezel Hesar on 6 April 2026, the fourth execution in this single protest-related case. Three co-defendants, including Zahdi, remain on death row.Source: https://hengaw.net/en

Background

Shahab Zahdi is one of three defendants in the Ali Fahim case currently in solitary confinement at Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj, Iran, facing imminent execution. Kurdish human rights organisation Hengaw reported on 24 April 2026 that Zahdi, alongside Abolfazl Salehi Siavoshani and Yaser Rajaeifar, had been held in isolation with no family contact and no indication of any stay of proceedings.

Hengaw's count of political prisoners executed since the beginning of the Iran war on 28 February 2026 stands at 17, within a Q1 2026 total that exceeds 160 executions. The Ali Fahim case is part of a pattern of prosecutions linked to the protest cycle that began in 2022. The execution of political prisoners during the war has proceeded in parallel with front-line operations, with the judiciary maintaining an independent trajectory from military and diplomatic tracks.

The three defendants' cases sit within a documented pattern: individuals arrested during protests, charged under national-security provisions, denied standard appeals, and scheduled for execution during periods of heightened conflict. International human rights organisations have documented the acceleration of this pattern since February 2026.

How the World Sees Them

Iran

Iranian authorities have not publicly responded to Hengaw's reporting on the Ali Fahim case defendants; executions of political prisoners have continued without acknowledgement of international criticism.

International

Human rights organisations including Hengaw document the cases as politically motivated prosecutions; the war context has reduced international diplomatic bandwidth for prisoner advocacy.