News Center— The escalating implementation of death sentences in Iran constitutes a blatant violation of the right to life, amid accusations that this punishment is being used to suppress voices calling for freedom and to curb protests. These practices raise growing concerns over the absence of judicial transparency and fair trial standards.

A group of students from Allameh Tabataba'i University issued a statement condemning the issuance and execution of death sentences in Iran, describing capital punishment as a tool for repression, for instilling fear, and for silencing voices of protest in society, while affirming the right to life as one of the most fundamental human rights.

The statement read: "For many years now, the death penalty in Iran has gone beyond being a criminal punishment to become a tool for exercising organized violence against citizens — a tool that does not aim to achieve justice, but rather to spread terror, silence the voice of protest, and impose silence on a society demanding freedom, dignity, and the right to self-determination. Above all, the death penalty is a violation of the most fundamental human right — the right to life — a right that no government or authority can strip from a human being."

The statement explained that the crimes of the recent protests did not mark the end of the repression of the Iranian people. After thousands of innocent people were killed in the country's streets, a new wave of arrests, prosecutions, and harsh sentences began. Rather than addressing the deep political, social, and economic crises, the Islamic Republic once again chose the path of repression, turning executions into a tool for political revenge and for instilling terror in citizens. By politicizing every social or political issue, the authorities criminalize protest, freedom of expression, and citizens' right to opposition, in an attempt to legitimize their practices — and under this system, the voice of dissent is not viewed as part of society, but as a threat to power.

The statement affirmed that, according to human rights organizations, at least 370 people were executed in Iran during just the first six months of this year — a figure that reflects only part of the truth, since official sources announced only 53 executions, with the rest documented through the review and verification of independent sources. These alarming statistics show that the death penalty has become a widespread policy of the Islamic Republic, one whose victims lose their lives amid a lack of judicial transparency and violations of fair trial standards in many of the cases that led to death sentences. Families of those sentenced have stated that their relatives were denied their full right to legal counsel and a fair trial, and were subjected to pressure and torture during interrogation. By building cases against civilians and issuing death sentences, the statement said, the Islamic Republic violates fundamental human rights in the name of "law."

The statement noted that as internal and international crises have intensified, the wave of executions has escalated as well: "The Islamic Republic seeks to create an atmosphere of fear, raise the cost of protest and dissent, and silence the voice of a generation that played a decisive role in the 2022 popular uprising and the recent protests the country has witnessed. Many of those facing execution today are young people of the millennial generation — a generation whose lives have been shaped by crises, discrimination, restrictions, and repression."

According to the statement, the Iranian authorities, by taking the lives of young protesters, seek to silence the voice of a generation demanding radical change to the current situation — but this government must understand that a new generation cannot be eliminated with a rope, for the voice of a generation fighting for freedom and human life will never be silenced.

The statement drew attention to the fact that, at a time when the south of the country suffers the ravages of war as a result of decades of hostile, crisis-inducing policies against other nations, and as dozens of innocent people fall victim daily, the Islamic Republic has waged a different kind of war on the Iranian people — taking revenge on them by executing young people in the name of law and security, granting itself legitimacy for violence against citizens, and turning execution into a means of political survival.

The students affirmed in their statement that the events at "Alikhani Square" in Isfahan, which took place last November/January, represent a clear example of systematic violence against citizens. During that case, the authorities issued death sentences against a number of participants, and the sentence was carried out on July 9 against 19-year-old Erfan Esfandiari and 23-year-old Jol Mohammad Mohammadi at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan — two young men from a generation now being targeted more than ever by policies of repression and capital punishment.

The statement stressed that the executions were carried out despite warnings issued by human rights organizations regarding trial procedures, the lack of transparency, and the need to ensure respect for the rights of the accused, raising further concern over how these cases are officially being handled.

In closing their statement, the students condemned the issuance and execution of death sentences and the blatant violation of citizens' right to life: "We believe that no government has the right to turn a human life into a political tool, and that no law can strip people of their right to life. The will for freedom will not be broken — just as the blood of December 2025 did not silence the voices of the Iranian people, neither will the blood of these protests. Every repressed generation gives rise to another, more aware and more determined generation. We stand with the families of the victims of these harsh death sentences, and we will not remain silent before them."