Fears are rising for the destiny of a detained Iranian protester who may quickly be executed, in response to a member of the family and the US State Department, amid a brutal and ongoing crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests by Iranian authorities.
In a Tuesday post on X, the US State Department stated that Iranian authorities are planning to execute Erfan Soltani, who was arrested at his residence final Thursday in reference to protests in Fardis, a metropolis about 25 miles west of Tehran.
“More than 10,600 Iranians have been arrested by the Islamic Republic regime simply for demanding their basic rights. Erfan Soltani, 26, whose death sentence was issued for January 14, is among them,” the State Department stated.
Speaking to NCS on Tuesday, Somayeh, a relative of Soltani who declined to be recognized by her full identify as a consequence of safety considerations, stated he’s an “incredibly kind and warm-hearted young man” who has “always fought for the freedom of Iran.”
Soltani was not allowed a lawyer or an enchantment after being sentenced to dying, in response to Somayeh, who stated that his trial was rushed.
Rushed dying sentences and sham trials are a standard prevalence in Iran, in response to regional consultants.
“This time, the Islamic Republic regime didn’t even bother with its usual 10-minute sham trial,” the US State Department stated in a put up on X.
NCS is reaching out to Iranian authorities for remark.
Iranian Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad stated over the weekend that authorized proceedings in opposition to protesters, whom he referred to as “terrorists,” will be carried out “without leniency, mercy or appeasement,” in response to the semi-official information company Tasnim.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated its intelligence community has obtained practically 400,000 public stories, main in some circumstances to arrests.
Hengaw, a Norway-based human rights group, reported that Soltani was arrested at his residence final Thursday. Four days after his arrest, his household was informed that his execution had been scheduled, it stated.
Soltani’s household has been denied entry to any info relating to his case, together with the costs in opposition to him, Hengaw reported Monday. His sister, a licensed lawyer, has tried to pursue the case, “but authorities have so far prevented her from accessing the case file,” the group stated.
His household has been granted solely “a brief opportunity for a final visit” earlier than his execution, in response to Hengaw.
The feared execution looms as tensions between the US and Iran additional intensify, with US President Donald Trump contemplating taking navy motion in opposition to Iran.
On Tuesday, Trump warned the regime against executing protesters and stated the US would take “strong action” in response.
“If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action,” the president informed CBS News in an interview, with out increasing on what that motion would be. Trump informed CBS that he had not heard stories about hangings, however he warned that such a growth may immediate a forceful US response.
“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing. When they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging, we’ll see how that works out for them,” Trump stated. “It’s not going to work out good.”
Somayeh, the member of the family, has referred to as on Trump for assist.
“Our demand now is that Trump truly stand behind the words he said, because the Iranian people came to the streets based on those statements,” she stated. “An unarmed population trusted these words and is now under gunfire. I beg you, please do not let Erfan be executed. Please.”
NCS’s Kevin Liptak and Helen Regan contributed to this report.