Iran Executes Ali-Sina Mostafavi After Disputed Armed Attack Case
Iran executed Ali-Sina Mostafavi in Kerman on 14 October 2026 after convicting him in an armed attack case. The judiciary alleged links to Israel and supporters of Reza Pahlavi, while rights advocates challenged the proceedings and the reliability of confessions.
Mostafavi was a mountaineer from Bam in Kerman province. In the hours before his death, campaigners had warned that he had been moved to solitary confinement and that his family had been called for a final visit. Those appeals did not stop the execution.
What the judiciary alleged
Mizan, the Iranian judiciary's news agency, accused Mostafavi of shootings in Kerman during the war with the United States and Israel. Its account described injuries to civilians, including a young girl, and alleged that he supported monarchist networks and communicated with hostile media.
The judiciary linked the case to Reza Pahlavi and Israel. Those assertions are the authorities' allegations, not independently established relationships. Mizan also accused Mostafavi of taking part in the winter protests and sending images to media outlets outside Iran.
Mizan also cited material gathered during searches, investigations and confessions attributed to the defendant. Human rights organisations disputed the conditions under which those confessions were obtained.
A death sentence and a rapid appeal
Iran Human Rights said Mostafavi was arrested on 25 April 2026. Citing an informed source, it identified Branch 1 of the Kerman Revolutionary Court as the sentencing court and said Branch 41 of the Supreme Court upheld the sentence on 28 September.
The capital charge was moharebeh, commonly translated as enmity against God. In Iranian criminal law, the term concerns taking up arms in a manner that creates public insecurity. It should not be casually replaced with espionage, which is a different allegation.
The judiciary said legal proceedings had been completed. That assertion does not resolve the separate objections concerning evidence, treatment in custody and whether the defence could operate independently.
The campaign before the execution
Iran International reported that the legal support group Dadban warned on 13 October of an imminent execution. Human Rights for Sports had also identified Mostafavi among athletes facing the death penalty.
Pahlavi's team appealed publicly and alleged that torture had produced a forced confession. Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last shah, is an exiled opposition figure. A public appeal from him does not establish that he directed the acts alleged by the judiciary.
The public campaign focused on the sentence, detention conditions and a last opportunity to prevent the execution. Iran Human Rights identified the prison as Kerman Central Prison, while Mizan's announcement named Kerman without specifying the facility.
A wider pattern in political cases
Iran Human Rights said on 14 October that at least 15 political prisoners had been executed since March for alleged affiliation with banned opposition groups. That is a defined category, not a total for all executions in Iran or all cases involving accusations of Israeli links.
The HANA Human Rights Organization said Supreme Court confirmation could not settle concerns about unreliable evidence, torture allegations or access to an independent defence. Those objections remained at the centre of the campaign after the authorities carried out the sentence.
