Search & fact-check with cited sources for What did the United Nations demand regarding the 12 protesters sentenced to death in Iran following the January 2026 protests, and what details are known about the cases, the broader wave of executions, and the international response?

Separately, UN experts on July 27 called on Iran to cancel the death penalties imposed on the 10 young men, noting they were sentenced to death in a single closed-door hearing alongside two others who had already been executed .

Earlier, on February 27, 2026, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty in Iran after the first death sentence linked to the January protests was issued . He reiterated that demand repeatedly, warning that many more individuals faced execution .

2. Details of the Alikhani Square case (the 12 protesters)

• Case name: Known as the "Alikhani Square" case in Isfahan .
• Charges: The 12 young men were accused by Iranian authorities of involvement in the killing of four Basij (pro-regime militia) members, as well as arson and vandalism during the January 2026 protests .
• Trial: The men (in their late teens and early 20s) were sentenced to death in a single closed-door hearing without due process guarantees .
• Supreme Court: Iran's Supreme Court upheld the death sentences in all 12 cases, and the case was referred to Isfahan Revolutionary Court for execution .
• Transfer: On or around July 18, authorities at Isfahan Central Prison transferred the 12 prisoners along with ~30 other political prisoners to an undisclosed location, raising fears of imminent mass executions .

Two already executed

• July 19, 2026: Erfan Esfandiari (aged 18–19, depending on the source) and Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi (aged 23–24, an Afghan national) were hanged at Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan . Esfandiari's reported "crime" was opening a door to shelter fleeing demonstrators . Both were executed on charges of "arson of public property" .

The remaining 10

As of late July 2026, 10 men remained on death row and at imminent risk. Among the named defendants are :

• Alireza Sepahi, 24 (four death sentences)
• Abolfazl Sepahi, 23 (three death sentences)
• Ghaem Hosseini, 20 (two death sentences)
• Others including Mehdi Cheshmeh-Noushabadi, Sajjad Akbari, Ali Mohammad Bahrami, Hossein Eskandari, and Hossein Kiani.

Reports as of July 27 indicated a new scaffold had been erected in Isfahan, fueling fears that further executions were imminent .

3. Broader wave of executions

The 12 Alikhani Square cases are part of a much wider pattern of state executions:

• By April 30, 2026: Iran had hanged at least 22 political prisoners, including 10 detained during the January 2026 protests — an average of one execution every two days .
• By April 29, 2026: The UN reported at least 21 executions and over 4,000 arrests since the start of US-Israeli hostilities with Iran on February 28 .
• By May 21, 2026: Amnesty International reported that at least 78 protesters and political prisoners sentenced to death were at risk of execution, including at least 41 people arrested in connection with the January 2026 protests .
• By May 22, 2026: Amnesty documented at least 36 arbitrary executions since February 28 .
• July 15, 2026: Mohammad Amini Dehaghani was executed for setting fire to a government building during the January protests .

Rights groups described the trials as "fast-tracked death penalty proceedings" conducted in gross violation of international due process standards .

4. International response

UN Human Rights Council (January 23, 2026)

The UNHRC held its 39th Special Session and adopted Resolution S-39/1 with 25 votes in favor, 7 against, and 13 abstentions . The resolution:

• Condemned the killing of thousands of people in Iran during the protests
• Called for an urgent investigation into human rights violations related to the protests
• Extended the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran for two years
• Demanded an end to the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations

The resolution's text (A/HRC/RES/S-39/1) is archived at the UN .

Iran's rejection

Iran dismissed the resolution, calling it politically motivated and illegitimate .

Other international actors

• Amnesty International (July 8, 2026): Called on UN member states to refer the situation in Iran to the International Criminal Court and create an independent international justice mechanism .
• Human Rights Watch (February 24, 2026): Described a "tsunami of arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances" and demanded immediate release of all arbitrarily detained individuals .
• Iran Human Rights and the International Commission of Jurists have also called for ICC investigation and the fact-finding mission to be properly resourced .