Iranian Regime Deliberately Stages Public Hangings to Silence Protesters; Latest Iranian Rapper Safavi Sentenced to Death

TEHRAN, Jul 28: A 22-year-old Iranian rapper arrested during January protests has been sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court in Isfahan, according to a source familiar with the case.

Mahnam Navab Safavi was convicted by Branch 5 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court on charges including “waging war against God” through alleged involvement in damage to public property, as well as propaganda against the establishment and alleged assembly and collusion.

The source said Safavi’s lawyers were denied access to the case file and were not given an opportunity to present a full defense. The trial was reportedly held in absentia, and Safavi remains detained at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan.

The case comes amid growing international criticism over Iran’s use of executions against individuals linked to the January protests. Rights groups have accused Iranian authorities of using death sentences and public executions as a tool to intimidate protesters and suppress dissent.

Earlier this week, two young men, Amirhossein Safari and Abolfazl Sepahi, were publicly executed in Isfahan’s Alikhani Square in a case linked to protests. Amnesty International said the executions marked an escalation in the use of the death penalty against demonstrators.

The rights group warned that dozens of others remain at risk of execution, including individuals who were minors at the time of their arrest, and called for urgent international action to prevent further executions.

Iranian authorities have defended their legal actions as enforcement of national laws, while critics argue that the death penalty is being used to silence opposition voices following widespread unrest.