Shahin Vahedparast

Shahin Vahedparast Kolour was arrested on 7 January 2026 in the Nazemabad neighbourhood of Tehran during the nationwide protests that erupted across Iran amid its war with the United States and Israel. He was accused of participating in an attempt to storm Basij base 185 Namjou and access its armoury. His death sentence was issued on 9 February 2026 by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran under charges of moharebeh (enmity against God) and corruption on earth, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati. He was executed at Ghezel Hesar Prison in Alborz Province on 5 April 2026, alongside Mohammadamin Biglari.

Vahedparast reported being subjected to beatings, floggings, prolonged solitary confinement, and death threats at gunpoint during detention. He was denied access to a lawyer during interrogations, and his conviction rested on confessions that he and his representatives said were extracted under torture. The trial, presided over by a judge known for handing down severe sentences to political prisoners, lasted only a few hours. Amnesty International called the proceedings grossly unfair and documented the case as part of a broader pattern of expedited executions of protesters linked to the January 2026 uprising. Two co-defendants from the same group of four remain on death row.

His execution was the third in 48 hours connected to the January 2026 protests, following the hanging of 18-year-old Amirhossein Hatami on 3 April. Rights groups and analysts say Iran is deploying the death penalty under wartime conditions to suppress political dissent with reduced international visibility: at least 11 men faced imminent execution on protest-related charges as of early April 2026, and Iran recorded 657 executions in the first three months of 2026 alone, putting it on course for a record annual total.