Masoud Babaei and Ahmad Khaksar were arrested in Shirvan on 8 January; sources close to the families said confessions were extracted under torture and North Khorasan state TV presented them as 'ringleaders'. Hadi Abbasian, also arrested on 8 January, was later reported dead: agents told his mother 'Come for the burial. He has been executed,' but the family was not allowed to see the body, IranWire reported on 9 February.