Iran’s Judiciary presented a version of the sentence different from that announced by family members in relation to protester Erfan Soltani, 26, arrested in the protests that took to the country’s streets. Initially, he had been sentenced to the death penalty, according to human rights organizations, and his execution was scheduled for this Wednesday (14).
However, the Mizan news agency, linked to the Iranian judiciary, presented a new version of the sentence, after days of pressure from US President Donald Trump.
“Soltani was arrested during the unrest and charged with illegal assembly, threatening national security and propaganda activities against the regime. He is currently detained in Karaj city central prison,” the agency said.
“If the charges against the defendant are proven, the penalty provided by law is imprisonment, and the death penalty is not provided for this type of crime,” added the publication.
With pressure from Trump, accompanied by threats of military intervention, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave an interview to Fox News on Wednesday and reiterated that there are no plans to hang detained protesters. “I can say with complete confidence that there are no plans for hangings.”
On the same day, before information about Soltani’s conviction was released, the head of Iran’s Judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, promised to speed up the trials of demonstrators involved in protests across the country amid growing international concern about the brutal repression carried out by security agents on the streets.
Quoted by state media, he said protesters accused of violence or “terrorist activities” will have “priority in trial and punishment.”
Last Monday, the Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights Governance (IHRNGO) reiterated that it was aware through reports from its sources in the country that at least one protester was at risk of execution.
The NGO added that sources close to the family of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani stated that he was arrested on January 8 in Fardis, on the outskirts of Tehran, and that his family members were informed that he had been sentenced to death and that the execution would take place on the 14th.
The organization itself added that Iranian authorities sometimes use such threats as a form of pressure.
The NGO Hengaw also reported that Erfan Soltani’s sister, a lawyer, tried to access the case through legal channels, but authorities prevented her from accessing the case documents.
The protests that began on December 28 gained momentum in the following weeks and turned into a massacre from January 8, when a nationwide crackdown began, resulting in an uncertain death toll, estimated by organizations such as IHRNGO at 3,428, with thousands injured and detained.
Iranian authorities have so far confirmed the deaths of more than 150 members of the security forces, but have not yet released figures for civilian casualties, claiming that the process of identifying those killed is still ongoing.
In the Iranian regime’s version, the protests were peaceful between December 28 and January 7, but turned violent on January 8 due to the “infiltration of armed foreign agents” who sought to provoke a bloodbath to trigger a US military intervention.
Trump said on Wednesday afternoon that the Iranian regime has no plans to execute people who take part in the protests that have been taking place in the country in recent weeks.
“We have been informed that the deaths in Iran are stopping and that there are no plans for executions,” he told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, according to information from broadcaster CNN. “The killings have stopped. The executions have stopped.”
