In a chilling development from Tehran, Iran is poised to carry out its first execution of a female protester linked to the January 2026 demonstrations, according to various human rights organizations. The individual in question, Bita Hemmati, has been sentenced to death alongside three others in a case that has drawn international attention and condemnation.
Named alongside Hemmati in this collective death sentence is her husband, 34-year-old Mohammadreza Majid-Asl. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) have confirmed these details. Additionally, Behrouz Zamaninejad and Kourosh Zamaninejad, believed to be the couple’s neighbors, are facing the same grim fate, while a relative, Amir Hemmati, has been sentenced to five years in prison.
This spate of harsh sentences is part of the Iranian government’s intensified efforts to quell the widespread unrest that has gripped the nation. Reports indicate that these demonstrations have resulted in the deaths of potentially thousands of protesters this year alone, underscoring the regime’s brutal crackdown.
A snapshot of the turmoil was captured on January 9, 2026, when Iranians took to the streets in Tehran, blocking roads in defiance of the government. This image, provided by MAHSA via Middle East Images and AFP, vividly illustrates the fervor and peril of the ongoing protests.
According to a source that spoke with HRANA, “Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl and Bita Hemmati are a couple residing in Tehran, and Amir Hemmati is a relative. Kourosh Zamaninejad and Behrouz Zamaninejad lived in the same residential building, and their arrests were coordinated.” This account provides a glimpse into the personal connections and simultaneous apprehensions that have marked this tragic case.
“Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl and Bita Hemmati are a couple living in Tehran, and Amir Hemmati is a relative of the two,” a source told HRANA. “Kourosh Zamaninejad and Behrouz Zamaninejad were living in the same residential building, and their arrests took place simultaneously.”
No execution date has yet been given.
The Tehran Revolutionary Court reportedly accused the defendants of multiple offenses, including national security disruption in connection with the “hostile government of the United States,” according to HRANA.
On Jan. 8 and 9, the defendants allegedly used explosives and weapons, threw objects such as concrete blocks and incendiary materials from rooftops, injured security forces, and engaged in “propaganda against the regime” in an effort to undermine security, according to federal authorities.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
Alongside the capital punishment verdicts, the court also issued five years of discretionary imprisonment and ordered the seizure of their personal assets.
Officials added that the fifth associate, Amir Hemmati, was specifically convicted of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime,” the groups said.
Human rights activists further raised concerns that the defendants’ confessions may have been coerced, citing allegations of torture and interrogation.
Mourners hold pictures of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Isfahan, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Payman Shahsanaei/ISNA via AP)
The organizations, which are urging a halt to the executions, also claimed a lack of specific evidence linking the accused to the alleged crimes, and argued that Tehran is seeking to intimidate the public in order to prevent future civilian unrest.
Widespread protests first erupted in late December 2025 in Tehran amid an economic crisis marked by a collapsing currency and soaring inflation. Tensions then quickly escalated into broader anti-government unrest that spread across multiple cities.
Washington officially joined the conflict with the launch of Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, 2026, when it conducted massive joint airstrikes with Israel that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
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