Amid reports of widespread bloodshed during Iran’s internet blackout, human rights monitors say a detained protester is set to be executed as early as tomorrow, highlighting the speed and severity of the crackdown.
According to the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights, 26-year-old Erfan Soltani was arrested last Thursday and has already been sentenced to death, with his family informed he will be executed without being told when his trial took place or what charges he faced.
The development comes as residents describe cities such as Rasht as devastated, with one resident saying, “Everywhere is burnt with fire,” while security forces continue to use live ammunition and mass arrests to quell demonstrations. “We have never witnessed a case move so quickly,” Hengaw’s Awyar Shekhi told the BBC. “The government is using every tactic they know to suppress people and spread fear.”