Iranian authorities executed Gaam Hosseini, known as "Aryan," on Thursday morning for his alleged role in January protests in the central city of Isfahan, according to Iran International. Hosseini becomes the fifth person put to death among 12 defendants convicted in what's known as the "Ali-Khani Square case", a prosecution that has drawn sharp criticism from United Nations human rights experts over concerns about due process violations.
Iran's judiciary described Hosseini as a foreign national but did not officially specify his citizenship. However, a source familiar with the case reported that Hosseini was a cousin of Golmohammad Mohammadi, an Afghan citizen previously executed in connection with the same case, suggesting Hosseini also likely held Afghan nationality.
According to the judiciary's media center, Hosseini's execution was carried out after Iran's Supreme Court rejected his appeal and upheld the death sentence. He was convicted on charges including "moharebeh" (waging war against God), sabotage, property damage, and conspiracy to undermine national security.
The case centers on events that unfolded on January 8 in Ali-Khani Square in Isfahan, during which four Iranian security force members were killed. Authorities alleged that Hosseini was present at the scene armed with a cold weapon, wearing a hat and mask, and had turned off his mobile phone to avoid identification and tracking. He was also accused of participating in the arson of a mosque in the city's Malekshahr neighborhood that same night, and of creating an atmosphere of fear and terror while severely compromising public security.
Hosseini joins four others from the case who have been executed in recent weeks: Golmohammad Mohammadi and Orfan Espandiari, executed on July 19, and Amirhossein Saffari and Abolfazl Sepahi, executed on July 28. The latter two were hanged publicly in Ali-Khani Square itself (the site of the original protests) on a specially erected gallows under heavy security and increased police presence, amid fears of renewed demonstrations.
Hosseini's execution has again sparked outrage among international human rights organizations and experts. Prior to the earlier executions in the case, UN experts led by Mai Sato, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, issued an urgent appeal to halt the death sentences. The experts emphasized that sentencing 12 people to death in a single closed-door hearing, without clarifying each defendant's individual criminal responsibility, constitutes a grave violation of international fair trial standards.
According to reports, the defendants, most of them young men in their twenties or even late teens, suffered arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and cruel treatment, with convictions based primarily on confessions extracted from them and broadcast on state television.
This development is part of a broader and troubling trend of escalating use of the death penalty in Iran against those involved in protests. According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, since mid-March Iran has executed at least 56 people on national security-related charges, with over 100 additional individuals currently facing similar charges and potential death sentences.
