Erfan Kiani؛ Ninth protester of December January executed in the street His only image appeared during the broadcast of forced confessions
April 25, 2026; Erfan Kiani, one of the protesters arrested during the protests of December 2025/January 2026, was secretly executed in the street on the morning of Saturday, April 25, 2026. The media of the Islamic Republic of Iran published this news early in the morning without mentioning the exact location of the execution, and on the evening of the same day, a film of his forced confessions was broadcast on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
On the morning of Saturday, April 25, 2026, Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the Judiciary, reported that Erfan Kiani was "affiliated with Mossad" and a "leader and one of the enemy elements in the riots," writing that on January 8, 2026, along with several others, he "acted to destroy and set fire to public and private property, created fear and terror in the city, and engaged in brandishing weapons."
Furthermore, the IRIB, in a report broadcasting the forced confessions of Erfan Kiani, announced that he was identified and arrested by "Unknown Soldiers" in the Ministry of Intelligence. In these images, Erfan Kiani is seen in the street with a broken appearance and with bound hands and handcuffs, recounting the protests on the night of January 8 at the Piroozi Intersection in the city of Isfahan; a repetitive pattern of forced confessions in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This state killing through street execution took place while Mizan News Agency only referred to the upholding of the death sentence by the Supreme Court and the completion of the "legal procedure," with no other signs or details of the case being published. Among these, it is unclear whether he had access to a lawyer of his choice during the proceedings or if he had a lawyer at all; how and under what conditions the process of handling his case was completed within three months; whether he had a final meeting with his family and if the news of the execution was informed to his family or lawyer or not. Additionally, the status of his body is unknown, raising the question of whether it has been subjected to the phenomenon of enforced disappearance or not.
This is while all arrested protesters were deprived of the right to access a lawyer during the interrogation period, and many of them were threatened by judicial authorities during the trial stages that they do not have the right to use a lawyer.
With the execution of Erfan Kiani, the number of protesters executed in connection with the nationwide protests of December 2025/January 2026 has reached 9 individuals within 38 days. Prior to him, Amirali Mirjafari, Saleh Mohammadi, Saeid Davoodi, and Mehdi Ghasemi were executed on March 19, 2026, in the Central Prison of the city of Qom; Amirhossein Hatami on April 2, 2026, in Qezel Hesar Prison; Mohammad Amin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast on April 5, and Ali Fahim on April 6, 2026, in the same prison.
In this regard, Kurdpa, pointing to the execution of Erfan Kiani only within three months after the December/January protests, considers this process a clear sign of an unfair and hasty trial carried out by relying on forced confessions and in the absence of primary legal guarantees, including access to a lawyer. Kurdpa also evaluates the broadcasting of confessions and the manner of reporting on this case as being in line with the propaganda goals of the government and the creation of intimidation in society; an approach that uses punishment as a tool of pressure and social control with the aim of suppressing protests and warning protesters.
