Iranian authorities early Sunday morning executed Majid Adineh, who was arrested during the January 2026 protests, the regime judiciary-affiliated Mizan News Agency reported.
According to Mizan, the Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced Adineh to death and ordered the confiscation of all his property after convicting him of carrying out “operational actions in favor of Israel, the US, and hostile groups."
The sentence was subsequently upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court following an appeal.
Adineh was arrested on the evening of January 9 in the Mohammadshahr area of Karaj together with another person by intelligence forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Alborz Province, northwest of Tehran.
Iran’s judiciary claimed that authorities found a handgun, three magazines, 30 rounds of ammunition, two electric shock devices, two cans of tear gas spray, a battery-powered saw, and a bottle of gasoline at the time of his arrest.
The claims regarding the circumstances of Adineh’s arrest, the items allegedly found in his possession, his interrogation, and statements attributed to him could not be independently verified. Human rights organizations have repeatedly questioned the accuracy of such claims by Iranian authorities.
Mizan reported that during questioning, Adineh initially denied using a firearm and said he had gone to the area to purchase clothing. According to the judiciary’s account, he also said he intended to help security forces move people away from the protest.
He reportedly said that he had the bottle of gasoline and saw with him to counter the effects of tear gas.
The judiciary claimed that laboratory examinations showed that the firearm allegedly recovered from Adineh had been fired on January 8 and 9. Mizan said that after being confronted with the findings, Adineh acknowledged possessing the firearm and other equipment and said he had been aware of calls to participate in protests.
Mizan also alleged that Adineh was affiliated with and had received training from an opposition group based outside Iran. The report did not identify the group or provide evidence regarding the alleged connection.
Adineh’s case also included charges of “waging war against God" through deliberate arson, conspiracy to commit crimes against internal security, propaganda against the Iranian regime, and illegal possession of weapons and equipment.
Iranian officials and state media have described the January protests as “riots," “unrest," and a “US-Zionist coup," attributing them to the US and Israel. Human rights organizations say Iranian authorities use such accusations to justify the suppression of protesters and severe sentences against detainees.
The “No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign previously warned that the Iranian regime seeks to attribute popular protests to foreign countries in order to justify its repressive policies and the killing of citizens.
Adineh’s execution came one week after Shahram Sadeghi, another detainee from the January protests, was executed. Sadeghi had also been sentenced to death by the Karaj Revolutionary Court on charges of carrying out “operational actions in favor of Israel, the US, and hostile groups."
Iran’s judiciary has accelerated the issuing, confirmation, and implementation of death sentences against political prisoners in recent months. According to figures cited in the report, approximately 60 political prisoners have been executed since the beginning of the current Iranian year, while dozens of others have received death sentences on political charges.
On August 20, Iranian authorities also executed Qaem Hosseini, an Afghan citizen detained in connection with the “Alikhani Square" case in Isfahan. Four other defendants in the same case, including Hosseini’s cousin Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi, had previously been executed.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on August 5 that at least 56 political prisoners had been executed in Iran since March 18, including 27 whose cases were connected to the January protests.
According to Türk, more than 100 additional people were at risk of execution. He described the absence of fair-trial guarantees as “deeply troubling" and cited reports of confessions obtained under torture and cases in which only a few weeks passed between arrest and execution.