US EditionIran hangs 3 people, including teen wrestler, in first executions over January protests
Saleh Mohammadi, 19, and two others were publicly hanged in Qom after unfair trials with coerced confessions amid Iran’s crackdown on January protests, rights groups say.
- On March 19, 2026, the judiciary reported three executions in Qom after convictions for moharebeh, linked to January protests, in front of a group, according to Iran Human Rights.
- Earlier this year, nationwide demonstrations peaked on January 8 and 9, with rights groups recording more than 7,000 killings and Tehran acknowledging over 3,000 deaths.
- Two sources told CBS News that Saleh Mohammadi, a teenage wrestling champion, was denied adequate defense and forced to give 'confessions' in fast-tracked proceedings, Amnesty International said.
- Activists warned the hangings could spark a surge in executions as Iran fights Israel and the United States, with rights groups noting it hanged at least 1,500 people last year.
- Iran Human Rights warned, 'We are deeply concerned about the risk of mass executions of protesters and political prisoners in the shadow of war', and Norway-based NGO monitors said the three were sentenced after unfair trials based on confessions obtained under torture.
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110 Articles
Saleh Mohammadi had his 19th birthday in Iranian detention. Now the wrestler was executed together with two other men. The regime sends a clear message: further executions could soon follow.
Tehran sends a message with execution of young wrestler and others, say experts
When a 19-year-old wrestler and two other men were hanged in the holy city of Qom on Thursday, Iran’s theocratic regime was sending a message to both dissenters inside the country and opponents abroad, analysts say.
National team wrestler Saleh Mohammadi has been executed in Iran. The 19-year-old was among the first to be executed after being sentenced in connection with this winter's major protests against the Iranian regime.
Fears Spread Of More Executions After Iran Hangs 3 Over Protests
Human rights groups have condemned Iran's hanging of three men in the first executions over January protests and warned they fear more executions to come. Authorities in Iran are trying "to frighten the public" and keep them in line in order to remain in power, says Mahmoud Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights organization.
Nineteen-year-old Saleh Mohammadi, one of Iran's greatest talents in freestyle rings, was hanged for killing two police officers. Human rights organisations accuse the judiciary of coercion and torture.
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