Young Iranian Protester's Execution Sparks Outrage

The Islamic Republic's authorities have executed another young protester in connection with the Woman Life Freedom movement amid a spike in executions in the country. 

The Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary, announced the execution of Mohammad Ghobadlou on January 23.

Ghobadlou’s execution was the ninth reported by the authorities since the nationwide protests started in the fall of 2022

On the evening of January 22, Ghobadlou's lawyer, Amir Raisian, disclosed he had received a notification indicating the execution of the 23-year-old protester's death sentence on January 23. 

Raisian shared on the social media platform X that the execution notice was issued despite the Supreme Court having overturned his client’s death sentence. 

The lawyer insisted that the execution lacks legal basis and is undoubtedly tantamount to "murder."

Ghobadlou was sentenced to death in November 2022 for "deliberately” running a car over a group of police officers and "murdering" one. 

The Supreme Court subsequently overturned the sentence, citing irregularities in the initial proceedings. 

Ghobadlou suffers from bipolar disorder, and authorities have denied him his medication while in custody, according to his family.

In a video from a court hearing published by media close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ghobadlou can be seen avoiding direct eye contact with the judge. 

Speaking in broken words, the defendant rejects the judge's claim that had told his father he wanted to "riot."

Habib Daneshvar, a protester held in Ghobadlou’s prison cell, revealed in a letter that his bipolar disorder worsened while in detention. 

In one incident, an angered Ghobadlou punched a fellow inmate, which led him to solitary confinement. The next day, he had no recollection of the incident.

According to information previously obtained by the BBC Persian service, Ghobadlou has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder since 2016. 

This fact was emphasized by Ghobadlou himself in court, and his mother said many times that her son was suffering from a mental illness. 

“We Will Be Killed One by One”

Ghobadlou’s family and several supporters gathered in front of Qezelhesar prison overnight to plead for the man’s life.

Fahimeh Moradi, the mother of Yalda Aghafazli, a young woman arrested during the 2022 uprising and died under suspicious circumstances a few days after her release, addressed the protesters saying, "If we don't unite, we will be killed one by one."

According to reports circulating on social media, the prison's anti-riot guards assaulted those gathered outside the facility.

Khodarahm Qolyian, the father of Sepideh Qolyian, an activist held in Tehran’s Evin prison, wrote on the social media platform X, "We stand against these government murders. #notoexecution."

From Evin prison, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi urged Iranians to not leave Qabadlou's mother alone and to oppose executions.