Iranian protester hanged one day after marrying fiancée by phone

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Oct 20, 2026

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On the last Sunday of his life, Alireza Sepahi became a husband.

He was 25 and had been moved to solitary confinement at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan. That move is usually the sign the end is near. His family had been summoned for what was expected to be a final visit. His lawyer wrote that he was breathing today, “perhaps not tomorrow.” rudaw

Across the city, in a different prison, was Mahshad Kashani. She was 22 and a student, and she was his fiancée. The couple had been engaged before their arrests, and Kashani was also detained and sentenced to five years in prison. iranintl

Prison officials refused the couple permission to meet in person one last time. So they married without being in the same room. al-monitor

The human rights lawyer Amirsalar Davoudi arranged an audio call between the two Isfahan facilities, with both fathers on the line. The ceremony took about nine minutes, and Davoudi said it brought some of the officers to tears. theprint

The idea was hers. Davoudi told The Times: “It was Mahshad’s idea.” When he put the proposal to Sepahi, the young man broke down in tears. wfmdwfmd

Davoudi hoped that international attention to the wedding might stop the execution. It did not. theprint

Sepahi had already come close to death once. He was due to be hanged publicly in Alikhani Square on July 28 but suffered a heart attack shortly before and was rushed to hospital. His cousin and another co-defendant were executed that day without him. He was later returned to prison. rudawrudaw

The rights groups’ account of the case is bleak. UN special rapporteur Mai Sato said reports indicated Sepahi’s mother was tortured in front of him, and that he and his cousin were beaten in front of their family. Human rights groups say the confessions in the case were forced under torture. The authorities say four security personnel were killed in the January 8 clashes. www.iranintl.com +2

On Monday, October 5, Sepahi and Alireza Raisi were executed at dawn at Isfahan Central Prison, according to Hengaw. Nobel laureate and lawyer Shirin Ebadi wrote of the wedding: “He became a groom yesterday, and today they executed him.” iranintliranintl

His family was reportedly prevented from burying him in his hometown. wfmd

What happened next may be the harshest part.

Iran International reported that Kashani is being interrogated and pressured to deny the marriage. It said her phone contact with people outside Dowlatabad prison was cut off, and that relatives on both sides were pressured too. iranintl

Then Davoudi was arrested at a Revolutionary Court in Isfahan while defending Kashani. Authorities opened a new case against him, and the charges are unknown. Isfahan’s judiciary chief confirmed the arrest, saying it was over an Instagram post about the marriage contract. He called the post “false” and said “hostile” media had used it. iranintliranintl

Davoudi has been here before. In 2019 he was sentenced to 29 years and three months in prison, with 15 years to be served, after years of defending political prisoners. amnestyusa

The state says the marriage is a lie. The groom is dead and the lawyer is detained. The bride sits in a prison cell, pressed to say she was never a wife.

The wedding left its own record anyway: a nine-minute phone call, two fathers, a lawyer, and some guards who couldn’t hold back tears. A marriage that is denied is still a marriage that happened. By Iran Human Rights’ count, at least 32 people had already been hanged over the protests before Sepahi, and at least 100 more are at risk. Each one had a life like this behind the number. rudaw

Iran International, “Two more January protesters executed in Iran,” Oct 5, 2026: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202610057647

Rudaw, report on Sepahi’s execution and the wedding: https://rudaw.net/english/categories/iran/1079585

Al-Monitor, “Spared, married, hanged: the last weeks of Iranian protester Alireza Sepahi”: https://al-monitor.com/originals/2026/10/spared-married-hanged-last-weeks-iranian-protester-alireza-sepahi

ThePrint, “Iranian protester weds fiancée on eve of his execution”: https://theprint.in/feature/iranian-protester-weds-fiancee-on-eve-of-his-execution/3066520/

Iran International, “Jailed wife of executed Iran protester pressured to deny marriage,” Oct 10, 2026: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202610100134

Iran International, “Iran arrests lawyer who officiated executed protester’s wedding,” Oct 11, 2026: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202610116148

Iran International, “Iran lawyer arrested over saying executed man and jailed woman got married, judiciary says,” Oct 13, 2026: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202610132016

RFE/RL, “Prominent Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Arrested”: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-mass-protests-execution-davoodi-lawyer/33875076.html

Amnesty International, Urgent Action on Davoudi’s 2019 sentence: https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/uaa09419.pdf

NewsBytes, summaries of the wedding and execution: https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/world/iran-executes-25-year-old-alireza-sepahi-after-phone-wedding/tldr and https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/world/iran-executes-alireza-sepahi-hours-after-marrying-mahshad-keshani/tldr