Iran Sentences Three Mashhad Protesters to Death After January Protests

MASHHAD, Iran — Three protesters arrested in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad during the nationwide unrest of January 2026 have been sentenced to death, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has reported, in a Mashhad protesters death sentence case that names two of the condemned men while the third remains unidentified. HRANA identified Vahid Khodrikhah, 34, a resident of Mashhad, on Wednesday, November 4; Matin Farnian, 23, also of Mashhad, was named earlier. All three were sentenced by Branch 5 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Hossein Yazdankhah, on the charge of moharebeh, or "enmity against God". The men were arrested on January 18 and 19, 2026, and are held in Vakilabad Prison in separate wards, Khodrikhah in Ward 6/1.

Key Points

• Three protesters arrested in Mashhad during the January 2026 unrest have been sentenced to death by Branch 5 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court for moharebeh, or "enmity against God".
• HRANA has identified two of the men: Vahid Khodrikhah, 34, named on November 4, and Matin Farnian, 23, named earlier. The third remains unidentified.
• The three were arrested on January 18 and 19, 2026, and are held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, in separate wards. Khodrikhah is in Ward 6/1.
• Khodrikhah was wounded by gunfire during the January protests before his arrest. The bullet was later removed, and he has received follow-up medical care in prison, according to a source cited by HRANA.
• The sentences follow the hanging on November 3 of two men in Isfahan over the killing of four police officers during the same January protests.

What Happened

HRANA first reported the three death sentences on Monday, November 2, when only Farnian had been identified. Two days later it confirmed Khodrikhah as the second man, and said it was continuing its work to establish the identity of the third and to obtain further information about the case. An informed source told HRANA about Khodrikhah's condition: "Before his arrest, he was wounded by gunfire during the January protests. The bullet has since been removed from his body, and the necessary follow-up medical care has been provided during his imprisonment." The sentences are not yet final in the public record, and the Iranian judiciary has not publicly commented on them.

Background: The January Protests

The protests began in Tehran on December 28, 2025, when shopkeepers and bazaar merchants marched over the collapsing currency and the rising cost of living. Within two days they had spread into a nationwide movement, reaching Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city and a major religious centre in the northeast. The unrest peaked on January 8 and 9, 2026, when crowds clashed with security forces in several cities. More than 3,000 people were killed, according to official figures cited in earlier reporting, and thousands more were arrested. The crackdown unfolded against a deepening economic crisis and, from late February 2026, a war with the United States now in its ninth month. Iran is second only to China in executions each year, according to Amnesty International, and the pace has risen sharply since January.

Mashhad Protesters' Death Sentence: The Case So Far

Almost everything known about the Mashhad case comes from HRANA, which gathers information from sources inside Iran, including detainees' families and people with knowledge of the prison system. The three men were arrested on January 18 and 19, 2026, transferred to Vakilabad Prison and placed in different wards. On November 2, HRANA reported the death sentences, naming only Farnian; on November 4 it named Khodrikhah. The third man is still unknown. In Iran's Revolutionary Court system, verdicts can be appealed to the Supreme Court, and sentences are sometimes changed or overturned. Whether the Mashhad sentences have been appealed, or confirmed, is not yet known, and HRANA says its investigation is continuing.

Reactions and Quotes

The sentences have been reported by rights monitors rather than announced by the Iranian authorities, and no official reaction has been published. But the pattern — death sentences for protesters, handed down months after the unrest — has been condemned repeatedly by human rights organisations and Western governments. They land in the same week as the Isfahan hangings: Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi were hanged on November 3 after the Supreme Court upheld their sentences over the killing of four police officers on January 8, The United Nations and the European Union have repeatedly called on Tehran to halt executions of people arrested during protests and to guarantee fair trials, with little visible effect.

Why It Matters

The Mashhad sentences matter for three reasons. First, they show the judicial consequences of the January protests are still unfolding ten months on: the men were arrested in January and sentenced in November, and any appeals could take months more. Second, it shows how the charge of moharebeh is used: the offence, "enmity against God", is broad enough to cover a wide range of protest activity and carries a mandatory death sentence, while closed Revolutionary Court proceedings make it impossible to know what evidence was presented. Third, the sentences come as the United States and Iran, in the ninth month of a war that began on February 28, 2026, talk about a possible negotiated settlement — progress Vice President JD Vance reported on November 2 — adding a human rights dimension to a crisis usually discussed in military terms.

What Happens Next

The immediate question is whether the sentences will be appealed and whether the Supreme Court will uphold them; in Isfahan, the court confirmed the sentences before the hangings. HRANA is continuing its investigation, and the identity of the third man may emerge in the coming days. Rights groups are expected to campaign for the sentences to be overturned, and the case is likely to be raised by the United Nations and by governments that have condemned Iran's protest-related executions. For now, three men sit in Vakilabad Prison, two named and one not, waiting to learn whether they will live or die.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the three protesters sentenced to death in Mashhad?
Two have been identified by HRANA: Vahid Khodrikhah, 34, and Matin Farnian, 23, both residents of Mashhad. The third has not been identified.

What were they charged with?
They were sentenced by Branch 5 of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court for moharebeh, or "enmity against God", a capital offence under Iranian law.

When were they arrested?
HRANA says they were arrested in Mashhad on January 18 and 19, 2026, during the nationwide protests, and transferred to Vakilabad Prison.

Is the sentence final?
Not as far as is publicly known. Death sentences can be appealed to the Supreme Court, and HRANA says its investigation is continuing.

How does this case relate to the Isfahan hangings?
It is a separate case, but part of the same pattern. Two men were hanged in Isfahan on November 3, 2026, over the killing of four police officers during the January protests.

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