Alireza Raisi

Alireza Raisi was a young man from Isfahan, aged 21 or 22 by different accounts. He was arrested after the January 2026 protests in Isfahan, where his cousin Ramin was reportedly shot dead. He became one of 12 defendants in the Alikhani Square case, in which the authorities accused protesters of killing four police officers on 8 January and charged them with "moharebeh" and membership in "baghi" (armed rebel) groups. Rights groups say the confessions in the case were extracted under torture. On 23 January 2026, state TV aired the defendants' confessions with their faces blurred, and the Supreme Court upheld the death sentences in July. In his last phone call, with his father on the line, he said he was proud of him "in every way" and promised to look after Ramin. His family was called to Isfahan's Dastgerd Prison for a final visit, and he was hanged there at dawn on 5 October 2026 (13 Mehr 1405), together with co-defendant Alireza Sepahi. The family was not allowed to bury him in their hometown. Security agents took his father to the burial site blindfolded, and a source close to the family said they still do not know exactly where he lies; other reports say he was buried in Natanz.