From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Iran executes eighth man over 2026 protests
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Iranian authorities execute a man convicted of helping to set fire to a major mosque in Tehran during protests in January, the judiciary says.
Amir Ali Mirjafari was accused of setting fire to the Gholhak Grand Mosque and also working with the Israeli spy agency Mossad, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reports.
He is the eighth person to be hanged over the January demonstrations within just over a month.
Rights groups accuse the Islamic Republic of using capital punishment to instill fear throughout society and stepping up executions of political prisoners against the background of the war against the US and Israel.
“By baselessly linking his participation in the January protests to Israel and the US, the Islamic Republic continues its strategy of framing domestic civil unrest as foreign espionage to expedite the execution of protesters,” Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights says.
The Times of Israel Community.