Reza Rasaei, a 34-year-old Iranian who was arrested during the 2022 anti-government protests in western Iranian province of Kermanshah, was executed on Tuesday morning.
Rasaei, who comes from the marginalized Kurdish and Yarsan minorities in Iran, was sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court on trumped-up charges related to the killing of an IRGC agent on November 18, 2022, and his death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2023.
In late 2022, while the Islamic Republic’s security forces were in the throes of their violent crackdown on unprecedented protests, news spread that a senior IRGC intelligence official had reportedly been stabbed to death. In response to Nader Bayrami's killing in Kermanshah Province, authorities arbitrarily detained dozens of protesters in retaliation.
Bayrami was reportedly killed during a gathering to honor Seyed Khalil Alinejad — an influential Kurdish and Yarsan figure believed to have been killed by security agents. Originating in 14th-century Iran, Yarsan is one of the Middle East's oldest faiths, with over one million followers in the country. The Islamic Republic refuses to recognize Yarsan as a legitimate faith, labeling it a "false cult" and regularly persecuting its followers.
Rasaei had received a call from state security agents before the gathering to get a commitment that he would not engage in protests. He attended the ceremony anyway, holding up a photo of his cousin Khairullah Haqjoyan, who was in custody at the time.
One of Rasaei's friends, who was also in attendance, reported that the crowd suddenly began chanting anti-regime slogans like "Death to the child-killing government" and "Woman, Life, Freedom." Authorities quickly began beating people with batons. After a gunshot was heard, security forces released tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Bayrami was giving a warning to a woman refusing to wear the hijab, when a group of people confronted him and eventually began beating him.
Days later, authorities in Kermanshah singled out Rasaei, blaming him for the alleged crime.
Exclusive interviews with eyewitnesses to the killing of the IRGC official and sources close to Rasaei’s family cast complete doubt on the regime’s narrative.
According to sources, Rasaei was not involved in the altercation that led to the death of the IRGC official and was ultimately forced to confess to Bayrami's murder under extreme torture.
Amnesty International announced in February 2024 that his death sentence was issued after an “unfair trial” based on “forced confessions.”
Amnesty International noted that during interrogations Rasaei was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including electric shocks and severe beatings to compel him to self-incriminating “confessions”.
The Dadban legal group, which monitors the legal proceedings of imprisoned protesters and political prisoners in Iran, also declared on social media that the death sentence against Rasaei is unlawful.
They noted that the court selectively accepted testimony from certain defendants while disregarding evidence that could have exonerated Rasaei. Despite the prosecutor's report highlighting flaws in the case, the judges persisted in issuing a guilty verdict.
Furthermore, the group of legal experts said, the court ignored the opinions of forensic experts regarding the cause of death and the weapon involved.
Dadban emphasized the influence of powerful institutions in Rasaei's case, suggesting that the verdict was predetermined despite numerous contradictions and flaws.