HRANA – Alireza Sepahi, one of those arrested during the January 2026 nationwide protests and among the defendants in the case known as the “Alikhani Square of Isfahan” case, suffered a stroke before being transferred for the implementation of his death sentence. Sepahi, who was scheduled to be executed alongside Abolfazl Sepahi and Amirhossein Safari, was taken to a hospital and, after receiving medical treatment, was returned to Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan.
According to HRANA, Alireza Sepahi, a death row prisoner, was returned to Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan after suffering a stroke and being transferred to a hospital.
According to information received by HRANA, Mr. Sepahi’s execution was scheduled to be carried out in the early hours of Tuesday, July 28, alongside those of Abolfazl Sepahi and Amirhossein Safari at Alikhani Square in Isfahan. However, before being transferred to the execution site, he suffered a stroke and was taken to a hospital by prison officials.
A source close to the prisoner’s family told HRANA that after undergoing medical treatment and being resuscitated at the hospital, Alireza Sepahi was returned to Dastgerd Prison, where he is currently being held. His return to prison has intensified his family’s concerns about both his physical condition and his fate.
Alireza Sepahi, aged approximately 25, was arrested on January 10, 2026, in connection with the nationwide protests. He had previously been transferred from the general ward of Dastgerd Prison to solitary confinement at around 5:00 a.m. on July 18, along with his cousin, Abolfazl Sepahi.
Court hearings in Mr. Sepahi’s case were held inside the prison via video conference. The judicial proceedings were marked by a number of due process concerns, including his lawyer’s inability to effectively access the case file, the authorities’ refusal to provide a copy of the court’s verdict, the family’s lack of information about the details of the charges, and the court’s failure to properly examine evidence submitted in his defense.
According to a source close to the family, surveillance camera footage and other evidence indicate that Alireza Sepahi was not present at Alikhani Square at the time of the incident forming the basis of the case and was elsewhere. Nevertheless, Judge Morteza Barati, who presided over the case, sentenced him to death on four counts without effectively examining this evidence.
Several other defendants in the case have also stated that they were subjected to pressure and torture during interrogations to force them to confirm Alireza Sepahi’s presence at the scene of the incident. Despite these allegations, no independent or effective investigation has been conducted into the possibility that these statements were obtained under coercion.
Two other defendants in the case, Erfan Esfandiari and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi, were executed on July 19. The death sentences of Abolfazl Sepahi and Amirhossein Safari were carried out publicly at Alikhani Square in Isfahan in the early hours of Tuesday, July 28.
In the initial trial, 15 defendants in this case were sentenced to death. According to information provided by their lawyer, the death sentence of one defendant was overturned by the higher judicial authority, while the death sentences of the remaining 14 defendants were upheld.
