By Ebel Okonkwo

Iran executed three men accused of carrying out operations on behalf of Israel and the United States during January’s nationwide anti-government protests, the Islamic Republic’s judiciary announced on Sunday, in the latest executions of prisoners detained in connection with the uprising.

Hassan Divband, Hamid Kazemi, and Reza Zanganeh were executed after Iran’s Supreme Court upheld their death sentences, according to judicial authorities, who accused the men of participating in armed attacks, arson, and the destruction of public infrastructure during demonstrations in Karaj, west of Tehran, on January 8 and 9.

The three were convicted of participating in what the judiciary described as operational activities for Israel, the United States, and hostile groups against Iran’s national security and interests. Their sentences also included the confiscation of their property.

Iranian state media alleged that the men had acted in accordance with calls for demonstrations by exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and as part of an Israeli-American plan to destabilize the country.

According to the judiciary, during January’s protests, the defendants attacked government buildings, destroyed surveillance cameras, and damaged an electrical substation that caused power outages in parts of Karaj.

The group possessed firearms, knives, Molotov cocktails, and homemade explosive devices, according to the authorities, and had assaulted two people whom they believed to be security personnel.

State-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that investigators claimed to have recovered two hunting rifles, ammunition, and evidence of the manufacture and use of 20 Molotov cocktails and 15 homemade explosive devices.

The judiciary said confessions, surveillance footage, and intelligence reports supported the convictions, although the evidence has not been independently examined.

The executions came just two days after the Human Rights Activists News Agency, HRANA, reported that Divband and Kazemi had been sentenced to death by Branch 2 of the Karaj Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Sabzevari.

The organisation said on Friday that both men were being held at Karaj Central Prison and that their sentences had been issued under provisions concerning operational activities against national security.

Iran alleges Iranian organised attacks, encouraged property destruction

Divband was arrested in January following an investigation by the Intelligence Ministry’s Alborz provincial office, according to the judiciary, which accused him of organising attacks and encouraging others to destroy public property.

Authorities alleged that Divband, 30, who owned an automotive repair business, had recruited employees and relatives to participate in the demonstrations.

However, information published by IranWire on Friday, citing an Iranian committee monitoring the detention of protesters, revealed that several members of Divband’s family had also been arrested during the January crackdown.

They included his 29-year-old relative Ali-Asghar Divband, 15-year-old Ali-Akbar Divband, and his 50-year-old father, Mohammad-Ali Divband. Another relative, Hamidreza Forouhar, 20, was also detained.

Their current circumstances remain unclear, with no independently verified information available concerning their charges or whether they remain in custody.

Zanganeh, 27, had previously been sentenced to death on accusations of cooperating with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, according to the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights.

Hengaw reported in August that Zanganeh, a recently married automotive technician specialising in foreign vehicles, was arrested at his workplace in April and later held at Ghezel Hesar Prison.

People close to him rejected the espionage allegations, saying they believed the accusations arose from his work repairing imported vehicles and previous business-related travel abroad.

The organisation reported that his death sentence had been issued by the same Revolutionary Court in Karaj, while other rights groups subsequently warned that he had been transferred to solitary confinement.

Eight other Iranian defendants receive prison sentences

The judiciary said eight other defendants in the Karaj case had received prison sentences ranging from five to ten years.

The executions come amid continued concern over the Islamic Republic’s use of legislation introduced in 2025 that increased punishments for espionage and cooperation with Israel and other countries designated as hostile, as well as the use of execution on protesters from January’s demonstrations.

The legislation, accelerated following the Twelve Day War in June 2025 war between Israel and Iran, expanded the range of national security offenses punishable by death.

Human Rights Watch and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran warned in September that the law was being used against protesters accused of acting on behalf of foreign governments, often without evidence establishing any genuine espionage activities.

Their investigation examined 29 executions linked to the January protests between March and August, finding that 16 of the cases involved no allegation that the defendants had killed anyone.

The organisations documented proceedings marked by allegations of torture, coerced confessions, restricted access to legal representation, and trials that sometimes concluded within weeks of an arrest.

“The authorities’ message is clearly that protests will be met with brutality,” Bahar Saba, senior Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch, said at the time.

Scale of Iranian executions raise international concern
The scale of the executions has continued to raise international concern.

An October investigation by Iran International identified at least 70 executions in political and security cases between January 7 and October 5, including 35 connected to the January protests. The investigation also identified 194 people facing death sentences in political and security cases, 113 of whom had been arrested in connection with the protests.

Separately, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization reported on November 3 that it had documented at least 691 executions across all criminal categories during the first ten months of 2026, including 77 in October alone.

The organisation cautioned that the figures represented verified cases and that the actual number of executions could be considerably higher, given the restrictions on independent reporting and information from inside Iranian prisons.

Sunday’s executions add to the number of protesters put to death since the authorities suppressed the demonstrations that began in late December 2025, with human rights organisations warning that scores of other detainees remain at risk of execution.

By Tony Moses, Makurdi

The immediate past Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has expressed deep sorrow over the death of retired Chief Judge of the state, Justice Adam Onum, describing his passing as a painful loss to the judiciary, Benue State and the nation.

Ortom in a condolence message signed by his Media Assistant, Paul Zege released at the weekend, recalled with fondness his administration’s appointment of Justice Onum as Chief Judge of Benue State, a responsibility he discharged with dignity, professionalism and a deep sense of commitment to the administration of justice.

He described the late jurist as a distinguished judicial officer whose years of service were marked by dedication to the rule of law, respect for judicial institutions and the pursuit of justice.

The former governor noted that Justice Onum’s contribution to the development of the judiciary in Benue State will forever be remembered, while his legacy of service will continue to inspire those who believe in the importance of an independent and credible justice system.

Ortom extended deep condolences to the family of the deceased, members of the Benue State Judiciary, the Nigerian Bar Association, friends and associates of the late jurist.

He prayed that Almighty God grants the family the fortitude to bear this painful loss and give eternal rest to the soul of the departed.

By Timothy Obasi, Abuja

Unhappy with the judgment by Justice Peter Lifu on the Sen.David Mark’s led National leadership of African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Associates of the former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, under the ageis of United Friends For Atiku ,, have petitioned the United Nation, UN, African Union, AU and the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS over Court Judgement that voided David Mark led executives.

Making this declaration at a Press Conference in Abuja on Thursday, the group described the judgment by Justice Peter Lifu as unacceptable and a plot to destroy democracy in Nigeria and predetermine the outcome of the 2027 presidential election.

It called on the International Community to pay close attention to the developments unfolding in the democratic process in the country, urging the world body not to sit on the fence.

The Association warned the judiciary not to allow itself to be weaponized against the rule of Law and democracy in Nigeria

“Against this background, we demand the following:
To the Judiciary: Uphold your independence. Do not allow the courts to be used as a tool for political elimination.
We urge the Court of Appeal to accord any appeal arising from this judgment the utmost urgency.

“To INEC: Discharge your responsibilities strictly in accordance with the Constitution and finalised judicial decisions, immune from the political preferences of the incumbent.

“To the Incumbent and Political Actors: Cease the weaponisation of state institutions. True political stability comes from fair competition.

“We urgently call upon the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and our international democratic partners—including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union—to pay close attention to the unfolding crisis in Nigeria. Do not wait for the total collapse of the democratic order before intervening. We urge you to hold the incumbent administration accountable to international democratic standards, scrutinise these judicial anomalies, and deploy necessary diplomatic pressure to ensure that Nigeria’s electoral process is not hijacked through institutional subterfuge.

“The stability of the West African sub-region hinges on the survival of Nigeria’s democracy.. We call on Nigerians to remain peaceful, vigilant, and committed to constitutional democracy. Disagreement must not become violence, and frustration must not become an excuse for lawlessness.

“However, let this serve as a definitive warning to those orchestrating this democratic heist: While we continually caution our supporters and the general public not to engage in the breakdown of law and order, the government must remember a fundamental truth of human nature. When a goat is pushed to the wall, it fights back, even against its owner.

“Do not push the Nigerian people to the wall. Do not test the limits of their patience by stealing their choices in the courtroom before they can reach the ballot box.

“Nigeria is bigger than any election, and democracy is bigger than any government. It does not belong to the Presidential Villa; it belongs to the Nigerian people.
Do not extinguish the alternatives and then expect the people to celebrate a hollow election.
Do not shrink the democratic space and mistake the people’s silence for consent.

“Let the courts interpret the law fairly. Let the institutions operate freely. Let political parties compete. Let the international community bear witness.
And, above all, let the Nigerian people decide”